Concord had a great turnout for its exhilarating ‘No Kings’ protest on June 14. As the Monitor reported, there was huge turnout of regular citizens crying out for democracy and a lot of support from passing cars.

The day after, I read an editorial by Jonathan Turley, a conservative law professor who teaches at George Washington University Law School. While Turley is highly intelligent and very accomplished, it is clear that he has drank the Trump Shade of Orange Kool-Aid.

Turley complains that the ‘No Kings’ protests were organized by left wing groups, unions (oh my goodness – working people!) and “other organizations.” He even called ‘No Kings’ “utter nonsense.” I strongly disagree, as I think the ‘No Kings’ protest was a great example of democracy at its finest.

Further, the Monitor reported that a co-founder of 50501 New Hampshire, Chris Farrell, is a Weare veteran who homeschools his children and wasn’t an activist before. That is homegrown, not some outside organization telling us Granite Staters what to do or think.

I didn’t go to the State House that day because I belong to a left wing group, a union or any other group. I went because I think Donald Trump is a threat to democracy.

What I saw at the rally was some friends and neighbors who were also concerned for democracy. The people there were not strangely garbed crazies, like the January 6 “shaman” wearing horns. They looked like average, everyday people whom you would otherwise see in Concord shopping for shoes, groceries or pumping gas.

Turley is entitled to disagree and call this outpouring “nonsense,” of course. The beauty of our country is that he gets to have his opinion. But the people I saw were there because they were fed up with the insanity and lawlessness of the Trump administration.

Turley’s editorial went on to say that our constitutional system is “operating as designed.” I think the facts say otherwise. Our president is making billions off of his office. POTUS says he doesn’t like the weaponization of law but he has politicized the Department of Justice more than any president ever. Due process is thrown in the trash bin whenever Trump or the DOJ thinks it can get away with it (oh, sorry, that plane the judge ordered us not to fly to El Salvador – too late, it’s already on its way).

Students get swept up off the street by masked ICE agents because they wrote an opinion piece that the Trump administration didn’t like. We’re sending military troops to L.A., even though the LAPD has everything under control and the governor hasn’t asked for help. The administration has withheld funds from programs that were already voted into law by Congress. Trump has bullied some law firms into forfeiting their First Amendment rights. Thankfully, some other law firms have refused to fold on their First Amendment rights. Those firms fought the issue in court, and they won.

All of this, and much more, does not sound to me like the system is “operating as designed.” It sounds like a system that is run by a bully who is exercising dictator’s powers whenever he can get away with it. Hence, ‘No Kings.’

Trump has done so much more damage, far too much to list in one essay. And whatever he does come against the background of his constant lies. He said: We have COVID under control (we didn’t); Obama wasn’t born in the USA (he was); the Central Park Five should be executed (for a crime it turns out they didn’t commit); he was Minnesota’s Man of the Year (no such award exists), etc.

That’s why I protested on June 14.

Corey Belobrow practiced law for 44 years. He lives in Concord.