No REIGN Today!

Comments from The Cincinnati “NO KINGS” Rally 06-14-2025:

Brothers. Sisters. Siblings. Friends of freedom— My name is Brian Griffin, and I am honored to stand before you here today as a leader in the American Labor Movement, because when democracy is under attack, working people don’t stay silent. We show up, we speak out, and we lock arms to defend the freedoms we’ve spent generations fighting to build.

Brothers… Sisters… Siblings… Friends. Fellow Americans!  We didn’t come here today for a polite policy chat. We came here because the alarm bells are blaring—and too many so-called leaders are just rolling over and hitting snooze.

This isn’t politics as usual. This is democracy under attack. And I’ll say it plain: 47 is not acting like a president. He’s behaving like a king.

But this country doesn’t do kings. We fought a war to get rid of one. We wrote a constitution to make sure we’d never need another. And yet here we are—watching one man grab power by the handful while Congress shrinks into the wallpaper.

If you want to know what 47’s second-term “model” looks like—don’t guess. Look at Los Angeles.

Just days ago, the President of the United States federalized 4,000 members of the California National Guard—and deployed U.S. Marines—against the will of California’s governor and mayor.

• Governor Newsom said no.
• Mayor Bass said no.
• The people of Los Angeles said no.
• And 47 said: “I don’t care.”

He used Title 10 and the Insurrection Act like they were weapons of war—not against enemies overseas, but against American cities that defy him.

• A federal judge called it what it is: illegal.
• A violation of the Tenth Amendment.
• A direct assault on the idea that states and cities still have a say in their own security.

Even the court asked: “How is this any different from what a monarch does?” But 47 doesn’t care what the courts say. He appealed.

And now federal troops remain in the streets of Los Angeles, not to serve the people, but to send a message: “Fall in line, or we’ll bring in the boots.”

He calls this a model for future actions. I call it martial law with a press secretary.

And let’s be clear—this isn’t just about Los Angeles. It’s a test run for every city that dares to say no to a would-be strongman. A blueprint for how to use federal muscle to crush local control and community resistance.

This is what 47 means by “law and order”:

• Deploying troops where they’re not wanted
• Overriding the voices of mayors and governors
• Treating cities like occupied territory
• Punishing dissent and rewarding obedience

It’s not governance. It’s not patriotism. It’s the behavior of one tiny little man who believes the presidency comes with a crown.

And where’s Congress? Where are the checks and balances? Where are the leaders with enough spine to say “No more”? They’re tweeting. They’re fundraising. They’re hiding.

Meanwhile, 47 is purging the federal workforce with Schedule F… Dismantling agencies like NIOSH, OSHA, and the NLRB… Turning public service into a loyalty test… And showing us—city by city—what happens when we don’t fight back.

But here’s what they forgot: We’re the labor movement. We don’t back down. We don’t kneel. And we damn sure don’t take orders from a would-be king.

We know what democracy looks like—because we fight for it on job sites, at bargaining tables, and in the streets every single day.

We know what freedom demands—because we build it, defend it, and pass it forward in solidarity.

So, let’s join our voices together now, in a righteous and mighty American chorus. Let us together say out loud, for every bully in power and every bystander in office:

• No kings…
• No tyrants…
• No troops in our streets.

This is our country—and we are not giving it away.

Solidarity forever. And thank you.