On the latest episode of the Byline Podcast, Adrian Goldberg talks to Hunter S Dunn, from the grassroots 50501 movement, which helped co-ordinate the ‘No Kings’ protests against President Trump on 14 June, 2025.
The demonstrations were attended by millions of people, in contrast to the underwhelming turnout for Trump’s own parade - officially designed to mark the 250th anniversary of the US Army, but which also coincided with his 79th birthday.
Dunn says the scale of the protests, “has made the Trump administration more afraid than they were before. I think that they realised for the first time how much the will of the people was against them.”
In the days before the demonstrations, Trump had sent the National Guard to quell riots in Los Angeles, against the wishes of Governor Gavin Newsom.
The violence was provoked by heavy-handed raids on minority communities, conducted by officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to Dunn, who lives in the area, ICE even broke into a church, “and took someone from the pews. They're taking people from graduations, from their work, from court appointments”
He continues “Not having papers? That is a civil offence according to our legal system. That is the equivalent of getting a speeding ticket or parking your car somewhere for too long.
“That is not the equivalent of a crime. Trump claimed he was going to go after violent criminals and terrorists, and if that's the case, he should start with ICE.
“What is happening in my community, in the greater Los Angeles area, is in direct contradiction with the social contract and the basis upon which our government is formed.
“When a government acts like that, it acts in violation of not just the will of the people, but of the basic, most fundamental rights of the people. That government is thereby illegitimate. And that's why we call Trump a ‘king’.
The last US king was, of course, George III of England who was violently overthrown. Dunn believes that isn’t necessary in Trump’s case, arguing that the Constitution holds out the possibility of impeachment. Failing that, he says, Trump and his acolytes can be defeated at the ballot box.
Listen to more episodes of the Byline Podcast with Adrian Goldberg here.
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