‘No Kings’ and other rallies in Wichita, Kansas, see many first-time protesters

Joann Montanez walked down North Broadway during a downpour Saturday morning, holding an umbrella in one hand and making a peace sign in the other.

It was the first time the 62-year-old has protested.

Hours later, downtown Wichita was filled with protesters rallying against the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

For many like Montanez, things have reached a point that pushed them to protest for the first time.

“There is an uprising,” Phil Ladwig, a 77-year-old U.S. Army veteran, said when asked about the turnout in Wichita and similar demonstrations taking place around the country.

Ladwig, who was wearing a Vietnam veteran hat, was protesting for the first time. It was also the first time for his wife, 75-year-old Gay Ladwig.

“It’s just become bad enough,” she said. “We need to stand up.”

Civil engineer Daniel Mealiff, his wife, Aubrey Mealiff, and their infant Jonathan, who was strapped to his dad’s chest, were also protesting for the first time.

The 37-year-old said Trump has overstepped his constitutional authority “in many areas.”

Crystal Ortiz and three of her friends were also protesting for the first time. The 17-year-old North High senior said her parents have concerns about deportation.

Ortiz, a Christian, said it took her one and a half hours to make her sign, which contained most of the Bible verse Leviticus 19:34. Her sign read, “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners.”

“We were kind of scared, especially since we’re little and we don’t know what to expect,” Ortiz said. “But I was telling my mom I’d rather get hurt doing something that I am really passionate about.”

One of her friends, Jaida Ocon, a 17-year-old North High School senior, said: “Something needs to change.”

Wichita among nationwide protests

More than 1,500 “No Kings” protests organized by a range of groups were planned Saturday across the country.

Wichita’s “No Kings” protest was organized by Defend Democracy ICT, which has been hosting regular protests downtown since February. Among the cities in Kansas with protests were Hutchinson, Garden City, Great Bend, Topeka and Ottawa.

While there was no official crowd-size estimate in Wichita, hundreds of people gathered on the sidewalks at each of major intersections along Douglas: Market, Broadway, Topeka and Emporia.

The protests came on the same day that President Trump held a military parade in D.C. celebrating the Army’s 250th anniversary. June 14 also Flag Day and Trump’s birthday.

Trump, asked ahead of the protests Saturday, said: “I don’t feel like a king. I have to go through hell to get things approved,” Time reported.

Nomar Plaza protest in north Wichita

Saturday’s first protest was scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at Nomar Plaza, near 21st and Broadway. It wasn’t part of the “No Kings” protests but was called “Families Belong Together” and was geared toward concerns about recent deportations.

The protest came as people in Los Angeles have clashed with law enforcement since daily protests started last week in response to the news of increased U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.

Some people have used the opportunity to vandalize and loot; in response, Trump has sent thousands of troops to California.

“Families Belong Together” organizer Atziri Campos said seeing all that has been going on lately, and specifically what is happening in Los Angeles, has been weighing on her heart.

“So I wanted people to feel represented by a Latino themselves that know what it is, what they’re going through, and I think that created a more peaceful and positive way in which they were able to attend the protest and actually walk,” she said, adding about 75-100 people marched under police escort down Broadway from 21st to Central.

The march got started late because of the rain.

Montanez, unsure if the rain would let up at all, decided to go it alone at around 9 a.m. when the event first started. She did not have a police escort as the rain fell hard on her.

Some honked their horn and one person in a uniform, which appeared to be a security uniform, pleaded with her to get out of the street.

“Children don’t get separated from their families when it’s a nice day,” she said in a phone interview. “I did my part with what was in my heart. That is it.”

The 62-year-old moved to Wichita in 2018 after retiring from working with the department of children and families in Los Angeles County.

Protest in downtown Wichita

Elizabeth, a single mom of two, stood at the southeast corner of Broadway and Douglas holding a sign that said: “LATINA. HEALHCARE HERO. NOT A THREAT.”

“I am here for everybody who can’t be here,” she said. “I am here because we all have to take care of each other.”

She wore scrubs over an outfit with the Mexican flag on it. She also covered her face, in fear that her federally-funded job at a dental clinic could be jeopardized because of protesting. She also only wanted to use her first name.

“It’s sad that I have to do this,” she said.

People shouted different things, including “No Kings” and “Show me what democracy looks like,” to which the crowd replied “This is what democracy looks like.”

A young boy rode down Broadway with his head out the car window and holding the American flag, saying “We’re no criminals.”

Trump and a flag rally

It was a different vibe a few blocks north at Central and Main, where more than a dozen Trump supporters waved American flags, sang “Happy Birthday, Donald Trump” and held a group prayer outside the Historic Sedgwick County Courthouse.

The separate event was organized and promoted by the Sedgwick County Republican Party, which encouraged attendees to bring their American, Gadsden, MAGA and Trump flags for “a rally to celebrate Flag Day and President Donald Trump’s birthday.”

Trump turned 79 on Saturday while the U.S. Flag turned 148 years old.

Organizers initially planned to hold the event in front of Union Station, but on Friday announced a location change.

“We were obviously hoping for a larger crowd,” Sedgwick County GOP Chairman John Whitmer said. “We had more who had RSVPed and were planning to attend, but moving it last minute – and the rain – probably didn’t help.”

Whitmer said the Flag Day celebration was not set up as a counter protest. He changed the location at the last minute over concerns that the “No Kings” crowd could spill over into his celebration and lead to a confrontation.

“Some of our folks, I think, to be honest, were a little concerned about the other groups and, frankly, were a little intimidated,” Whitmer said. “We’re here just to show respect and love for our country, and I don’t know if the others are necessarily here for that same purpose.”

Others at the Flag Day event expressed disgust at the large-scale protest on Douglas.

“I’m here to be with the beautiful people,” a man named Larry, who declined to provide his last name, said when he arrived around noon. “I went past the other protest down the way, and it was like a Star Wars bar. They’re all freaks.”

Don Schoenhofer said he supports the First Amendment but he believes attendees at the “No Kings” protest “are either paid or they’re lost, in my opinion.”

“I think we need more civic gatherings to learn about how our city is combating the violence and corruption that’s come upon our nation,” Schoenhofer said. “We have to do one in our own neighborhood collectively to change our nation as a whole.”

He said he was referring to riots and looting at some larger gatherings in the United States.

“Rioting, looting, people wanting things they don’t deserve and taking it by force, including lots of benefits that taxpayers provide that they’re not truly entitled to. I’m not saying anything about the ones that they are entitled to, such as Social Security. I paid in; I’m getting it out right now. I don’t mind any proper use of Social Security.”

Contributing: Allison Campbell and Chance Swaim with The Eagle

This story was originally published June 14, 2025 at 7:07 PM.