More than 230 people turned out on a sunny but cool Saturday afternoon in front of the historic Eagle Tavern and in front of the Oconee County Courthouse on Main Street in downtown Watkinsville to join the national No Kings rally.
Protesters carried hand-created signs with the No Kings theme, but also protesting the war in Iran, the cost of gasoline, President Donald Trump’s cabinet appointments, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, and the Jeffrey Epstein files.
“Hate Never Made America Great,” one protester proclaimed.
“Make Orwell Fiction Again,” another demanded, referring to George Orwell's novel 1984, which describes a totalitarian society.
The Watkinsville site was one of 10 rally locations in Athens and surrounding areas.
Other rallies were in Greensboro, in Madison, and at seven sites in Athens-Clarke County, including at Bishop Park, where speakers addressed the crowd, some of whom moved to that site from the other, earlier scheduled sites.
Downtown Athens was unavailable because of previously planned “Jam in the Streets” annual music festival.
IndivisibleGA10, a group of volunteers from across Georgia Congressional District 10 that claims to be nonpartisan and includes many Oconee County residents, organized the No Kings rallies. IndivisibleGA10 is affiliated with the national Indivisible organization.
IndivisibleGA10 said that approximately 4,000 persons attended the rallies at the 10 locations locally, with estimates of attendance nationally by organizers at 8 million.
Watkinsville Site
Participants at the Watkinsville rally began assembling shortly before the scheduled 1:30 p.m. start at the Eagle Tavern side of Main Street on Saturday and then across the street in front of the Courthouse. The Courthouse is surrounded by blue sheeting because of ongoing renovation.
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People arrived from both directions and formed mostly single-lines of protesters on both sides of the street.
The event had a festive air, and while many drivers passed through the lined street without reaction, many others honked their car horns and gave signs of encouragement to cheering protesters.
At least one driver did rev the engine of his truck loudly.
To get a count of those present, organizers passed out stickers.
By the end of the event, event organizers said they had distributed 232 stickers at the Watkinsville site.
Organizers said they distributed a total of 3,858 stickers across the 10 locations.
At the No Kings Two rally in October, organizers estimated attendance at 4,500 at multiple sites in Athens-Clarke County, based on stickers distributed, including to passers by at a tailgate site in the center of campus at a University of Georgia football game.
Organizers estimated attendance at No Kings One in downtown Athens in June at about 3,000, based on analysis of the crowd from photographs. (My own estimate was more conservative, at more than 2,400.)
Video
I shot the short video clip below at 2:17 p.m. on Saturday from the front of the Courthouse to give a sense of the rally.
I arrived at the rally about 1:15 p.m. and stayed until the crowd disbursed, shortly after the 2:30 p.m. scheduled ending of the event.
I did not go to Bishop Park or any of the other sites.
My wife, Ann Hollifield, served as media coordinator for IndivisibleGA10 for the event.
I relied on her for the counts for Watkinsville and other sites and for background on organization of the event.
I am not a member of IndivisibleGA10 and am not active in the group.
I did not share this post with my wife prior to posting it here on this site.
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