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'No Kings' protests live updates: Former Trump associate Lev Parnas hails freedom at rally

Follow along for updates on turnout, speeches and conditions on the ground.

WEST PALM BEACH — Demonstrators gathered in West Palm Beach on June 14 for “No Kings Day of Defiance," part of a nationwide series of protests against President Donald Trump. The event coincided with Trump’s birthday and Flag Day, and included a foot march, a car caravan and a rally at the Meyer Amphitheatre downtown.

Organizers said more than 3,000 people registered to attend the march and rally, where speakers discussed rifts over voting rights, immigration policies, gun control and public-health programs. Former Trump associate Lev Parnas, who broke with Trump during his first term as president, delivered the keynote address.

The West Palm Beach Police Department urged drivers to steer clear of downtown during the rally, which began at noon, warning of heavier-than-normal traffic throughout the area. Temperatures hovered in the 90s.

While Trump celebrated his birthday in Washington, D.C., demonstrators marched toward Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach estate. Follow this live blog for updates on turnout, speeches and conditions on the ground.

Lev Parnas speaks at 'No Kings' rally: Flag stands for freedom to live without fear

In his keynote remarks, former Trump associate Lev Parnas reminded the crowd that June 14 was more than Trump’s birthday. It was Flag Day, a moment to reflect on the ideals the American flag has long represented.

“It had 13 stars, 13 stripes, and it became a symbol for a new kind of country — a country not ruled by kings, but a country ruled by its people,” said Parnas, talking about what the Stars and Stripes looked like upon its creation.

Speaking from the stage of the Meyer Amphitheater, he traced the flag’s history from Valley Forge to Normandy to Selma, calling it a symbol not of any one leader or party, but of collective freedom.

“It’s not just for war, not just for pride, but for freedom — the freedom to speak, the freedom to question, the freedom to protest, and most importantly, the freedom to live without fear that your government is coming after you,” he said. “It belongs to every single one of you out there, every single American who’s ever dared to dream.”

Parnas delivered a scathing account of his time in the president’s orbit. He described being “mesmerized” at first by Trump’s world, then alarmed by its inner workings.

“MAGA is a cult,” he said. “A movement built not on principles, but on power, loyalty and fear to one man and one man only.”

One 'No Kings' protester wants focus on Trump, not other issues

Elizabeth Harris, 72, a retired property developer from Washington, D.C., frowned when she heard a “Free Palestine” chant break out on the lawn. Today was about “No Kings,” she said. Not the Israel-Palestine conflict, and not immigration, either. That was for the protests in Los Angeles, she said. 

“I support immigration, but today is about Donald Trump and what he’s doing to this country. He’s tearing it apart,” she said. “There’s so much hate coming to the surface. It’s frightening and sad and devastating all at the same time.” 

Beside her, a group of women tried unsuccessfully to stop a parking-enforcement officer from ticketing cars parked beside unpaid parking meters. A man among them shrugged, dubbing the ticket on his windshield an “all-day parking pass.” 

'No Kings protest goes in West Palm despite 90-degree temperatures

By 1 p.m., the lawn at the Meyer was flooded with people waving American flags and banners under the afternoon scorching sun. 

While gray skies cover Washington, D.C., where a military parade was set to occur that night, there wasn’t a cloud in sight in West Palm Beach, and feels-like temperatures were in the 90s.

People sought shade under palm trees, umbrellas and banners, but many stayed under the sun waving banners that spoke to their motivations for traveling to West Palm Beach. They included:

“If there's money for a birthday parade, there's money for Medicaid.”

“End ICE raids."

"If they can do it to Kilmar, they can do it to me."

A father's WWII service led one woman to 'No Kings' protest

Melisa Estrada and her niece, Alexis Silveira, bought beach chairs and banners to the Meyer.

“My dad fought fascists, now I am too?” Estrada's banner read in part.

Estrada said her father fought in World War II and won a Purple Heart for his service. She said he is the reason she came to the rally.

It’s not her first protest. She attended others since January and also during Trump's first presidency.

“This is about democracy,” Estrada said.  “This is about protecting the Constitution and about using our voice, because if we don’t use it now we might not be able to use it soon.”

Estrada said she wants to be on the right side of history and to speak for those who are afraid to do so.

“I don’t want to be known as someone who didn’t stand up and use my voice when it really mattered," she said.

In Palm Beach Gardens, man's first rally inspired by 'The Lone Ranger'

Mark Roberts, 70, of North Palm Beach, said he was inspired to attend the June 14 "No Kings" rally in Palm Beach Gardens because of an episode of "The Lone Ranger."

Mark Roberts, 70, who never attended a rally in his life, was inspired to come to the "No Kings" rally in Palm Beach Gardens by a "Lone Ranger" episode.

Police estimated about 1,000 to 1,500 people attended the June 14 rally on both sides of PGA Boulevard near Campus Drive and The Gardens Mall.

Roberts, a North Palm Beach resident, said he doesn't like crowds and stayed up until 3 a.m. with anxiety, trying to decide whether to go. "The alarm went off at 8 a.m. and I said, 'I think I'll skip it.' "

Then he said he remembered the Lone Ranger episode he watched the day before.

"He was talking about patriotism and how you have to fight for things and not run. Fight for what you believe in, fight for justice and stuff like that. That stuck in my mind.

"I like the Lone Ranger. He's got some good conservative values … and they're still applicable … just being a good American, being a good person actually.

"So I just said, 'I'm gonna get up and go.' "

People attend the June 14, 2025 "No Kings" protest rally along PGA Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens.

'No Kings' rally draws immigrant's son, upset for those Trump targets

Merv Lucas, 22, sat on the lawn of the amphitheater. He said he joined the demonstration for immigrants like his father, who hails from a nation he declined to specify, and for other marginalized people he feels are unjustly targeted by the Trump administration.

Two hours earlier, as he made his way onto the lawn, he said he passed two Trump supporters who waved MAGA flags in his face. Before that, a man in a car flicked him off.

Merv Lucas, a 22-year-old computer science student at Florida Atlantic University, said he came to the 'No Kings' rally in West Palm Beach on June 14, 2025, in support of his father, an immigrant from a nation he declined to identify.

“I don’t really care. What they’re rooting for is wrong,” said Lucas, a computer science junior at Florida Atlantic University. “It just shows me the type of person they are. I know what I believe in is right.”

He believes in equality, civil rights, human rights and democracy, he said. When asked what his opponents believe, Lucas couldn’t say for sure.

Trump immigration crackdown led some to 'No Kings' rally at Meyer Amphitheatre

The lawn at the Meyer Amphitheatre in downtown West Palm Beach was filled with people at 11:30 a.m. and covered in banners that read: 

"No kings since 1776.” 

“We the people are greater than Donald Trump and his regime.” 

“Worried about criminals but you made one your president.” 

“Stop pretending your racism is patriotism.” 

Ana Escobar (left) and Blanca Hernandez came to the 'No Kings' rally in West Palm Beach on June 14, 2025, to protest President Trump's immigration crackdown. They say family members have felt it firsthand, with one self-deporting and another being arrested by ICE.

For Blanca Hernández, it was her first protest. She attended with her aunt, Ana Escobar, who attended another No Kings rally in January. They are both first-generation U.S. citizens born to Salvadoran immigrant parents.  

They decided to attend to protest the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. They say they have lived in Palm Beach County their whole lives and had never seen their family members living in fear until now. 

“I'm here for my mom,” Hernández said. “I see how now she is living in fear.”

Even though her mother has a work permit, she is now scared of driving, going to the supermarket and even leaving the house. 

They said their cousin got detained and deported by ICE while waiting for a ride to work. 

Escobar’s mother, who worked in the fields for 23 years, decided to leave the country last month. She said she couldn’t bear the thought of getting detained by ICE while going to work, so she self-deported.  

Now Escobar, also 21, and her younger brother are alone in the U.S.  

“We were used to living with my mom,” Escobar said. “And now she is gone so suddenly. It's so hard.”

Giancarlo Sanchez Alvarez waves a flag with other protesters standing on a bridge with President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home behind them during a "No Kings Day" protest on June 14, 2025 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Now Escobar pays bills, cooks and cares for her younger brother.  

“Immigrants built America,” Hernández said. “We are employees. We make businesses.” 

Hernández lives in fear as well. Every time her mother leaves the house, she is scared she won’t come back. Last night she didn’t pick up and she called her 40 times.

A drink of water on a hot, highly partisan day

Thomas Osborne, 32, crouched along Southern Boulevard waving water bottles at passersby. Beside him, a sign said “free cold bottled water here!!” but the “cold” had long since been crossed out. Marchers took them gratefully. 

The Jupiter man works in flood prevention but decided last night to try his hand at heat stroke prevention, too. He’d bought 10 cases of water bottles to pass around by 10:30 a.m. An hour later, he carried two more cases from a corner store. 

He baked in the sun as he did so, unwilling to pilfer from the community cache in his backpack. 

On bridge to Mar-a-Lago, Trump supporters 'troll' marchers but support right to protest

By 10:50 a.m., marchers reached the end of the bridge, coming as close to Mar-a-Lago as police would permit. Then they turned around. 

Waiting to greet them were 19-year-old Jacob and his father, Ron, neither of whom felt comfortable sharing their last name for fear of retaliation. They waved a Trump 2028 flag and said they were there to “troll” marchers. The enraged responses they got only underscored their belief that some have lost touch with reality. 

“We’re trolling and they’re screaming, calling us Nazis and idiots,” Jacob said. “Everyone knows Trump can’t run again. It’s in the Constitution.” 

Ron, a retired Army veteran, said he doesn’t begrudge the protesters their demonstration. Protests are legal, he said; they should be out here. His son nodded and added: 

“I may look at their ideals and say that’s stupid, but I know they’re still people and still have a soul,” Jacob said, as a passing driver rolled down the window to shout “Idiot!” 

“Just because their ideas are bad doesn’t mean they are.” 

It’s a distinction he thinks the left has lost. 

'No Kings' march toward Mar-a-Lago begins with chants, signs aloft

At 10 a.m., the crowd migrated from the shade of Phipps Park’s ficus trees to the sidewalk along South Dixie Highway. Attendees young and old, some chanting into megaphones and others content to nod along, began to march.

Their path took them east on Southern Boulevard and onto the bridge connecting West Palm Beach and Palm Beach near Mar-a-Lago. Palm Beach police said demonstrators would be able to walk close, but not all the way, to President Trump's home.

For all their chants, none mentioned Trump by name. Few of the signs did either, opting instead for pejoratives: felon, rapist, liar, antichrist, traitor, Nazi. 

Drivers honked often — at least one every 30 seconds. Some screamed and waved their own flags out of the windows as they drove past, inciting screams in return from the sidewalk.

Reyes Muños, 44, yelled encouragement as marchers walked past him. In between shouts, the first generation son of Mexican parents spoke of the immigration crackdown that’s upended the lives of those he loves. 

“This isn’t right what Trump is doing. He’s deporting people, hard-working people,” he said. “All my people. My family, my friends. It breaks my heart.” 

Muños was born in New Jersey and lives in West Palm Beach, where he works in construction, landscaping and house cleaning. He said he’s seen the traffic stops that end with deportation and has lost about three of his friends that way, or maybe more. When he calls their phones and doesn’t hear back, all he can do is wonder.

“The kids are suffering,” he said. “That’s got to stop. It’s made my heart break, crying from inside. This has got to stop.” 

At West Palm park, Stars and Stripes, Pride flags and one woman who's had enough

Protesters march across the Southern Blvd bridge on their way to Palm Beach during a "No Kings Day" protest on June 14, 2025 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Daniela Childers, a 31-year-old therapist from West Palm Beach, stood alone among the crowd of demonstrators gathered at Phipps Park ahead of the march. She said she’s a generally anxious person who had abstained from protests before, but decided she could no longer watch from the sidelines.  

“I’m here at my first protest to basically show dissent to the current administration that I disagree with completely,” she said. 

“The lack of due process and detaining people of color, and just sending them to prisons, which is not OK. The entire health care overthrow of multiple departments and replacing all these important government officials and restructuring everything.” 

The public admonishment of bad behavior needs to happen more often, she said: “You can’t be openly racist. People have to know that’s not OK.” 

Protesters stood around her, U.S. flags and Pride flags draped across their shoulders. One wore the red cloak and white cap of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” where women are forced to produce children for the ruling class. 

They rotated between chants decrying what they described as a fascist government and a faux king. With 30 minutes remaining until the start of the march, there was no notable counterprotest present along South Dixie Highway near Southern Boulevard.

Chad Thompson, 40, concealed his face and tattoos before he joined the march, wary of counterprotesters identifying and targeting him after the demonstration. Like Childers, the Port St. Lucie man said today is his first protest.  

“I feel, like, called to arms sort of,” he said. “The growing movement made me excited. Like you need to get up and fight, because this is coming to your doorstep soon.” 

This, he said, is blatant authoritarianism. He held a sign with a crowned orange head, crossed out and sandwiched between the words “No kings since 1776.” 

Will Donald Trump appear at the West Palm 'No Kings Day' rally?

No. As protesters prepare to march toward his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump will be in Washington, D.C., hosting a military parade to celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary. It is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.

The event is expected to feature more than 6,000 service members, over 150 military vehicles, dozens of aircraft and historical reenactments. While critics have raised concerns about the cost, logistics and political overtones of holding a large military display on Trump’s birthday, organizers describe it only as a patriotic celebration of military history and service.

Who is Lev Parnas, and why is he headlining ‘No Kings Day’ in West Palm Beach?

Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani who played a central role in the Trump administration’s efforts to pressure Ukraine, will deliver the keynote address at the No Kings rally on June 14 at the Meyer Amphitheatre in downtown West Palm Beach.

An immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Parnas rose to national attention in 2019 as Giuliani’s fixer in Ukraine. Working alongside another South Florida businessman, Igor Fruman, Parnas helped coordinate efforts to dig up political dirt on Joe Biden and push for the removal of then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. Their activities became central to the first impeachment inquiry against Trump.

Jan 29, 2020; Washington, DC, USA; Lev Parnas walks in front of the United States Capitol on the day he received a ticket from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to watch the Senate removal trial of Donald J. Trump on Tuesday Jan. 28, 2020.

Parnas was arrested in October 2019 at Dulles International Airport and later convicted on six felony counts related to campaign finance violations. Federal prosecutors accused him of illegally funneling foreign money into U.S. elections and of attempting to buy political influence. In 2022, he was sentenced to 20 months in prison.

Since then, Parnas has turned sharply against Trump and Giuliani, testifying before Congress and turning over thousands of pages of documents, including WhatsApp messages, handwritten notes and call logs later used in impeachment proceedings.

Valentina Palm and Hannah Phillips are journalists at The Palm Beach Post. Reach them at vpalm@pbpost.com and at hphillips@pbpost.com.

This story was updated to add a video.