Anchorage, like cities across the country, held a protest Saturday to coincide with President Trump’s military parade in Washington, D.C. The national protest theme was “No Kings” and some of the Alaska protesters added a seafood exception to that.
“My sign says, ‘The only king I want is a king salmon,’" said Anchorage wedding photographer Camille Jones. "Because here in Alaska the only kind of king we’re interested in is the kind that’s good for us, and the kind that we can eat.”
A few thousand protesters gathered in downtown Anchorage, waving American and Alaska flags under blue skies. Anti-Trump signs ranged from artistic to profane.
Retired resource economist Kevin Banks said he appreciated the signs that extended the “No Kings” exception to king crab, as well. Banks said the Trump administration is exacerbating dismal king crab fisheries by eliminating the jobs of federal scientists and fisheries managers.
“And now we don't have NOAA to keep track of it. We don't have the research to go along with it," he said. "Permitting and quotas are going to be violated without any enforcement. It means something to us to be able to fish for crab.”
Right-wing bloggers and social media influencers warned of possible violence among the “No Kings” protests. Banks said he’d heard suggestions that demonstrators should learn how to de-escalate and avoid confrontation, but he didn’t sense any agitators in the Anchorage crowd.
“I think they just stayed home," he said. "It's a nice day, after all, for everybody.”
At least 18 communities held “No Kings” protests in Alaska, among some 2,000 nationwide, organizers say.
First Presbyterian Church invited Anchorage protesters to leave their signs on the church lawn. Pastor Matthew Schultz and a team of a dozen volunteers removed the sticks and delivered about 400 signs to U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan’s Anchorage office Monday morning.
Correction: The nationwide count of protests was updated and attributed to organizers.
