A No Kings Protest in Springfield started near the Perry Tennis courts and ended with crowds lining National from Bennett to Sunshine and going part way down Sunshine both east and west. People, holding signs like "Due Process for All" and "Empathy is Not Political" waved at passersby, many of whom honked in support.
Sherrie Miller was one of the protestors who turned out Saturday. She lives in Washington state, but she has family in Springfield, and she graduated from Drury.
Miller said she came out "because love is what we need, and freedom and rights that everyone is entitled to. Due process, and you come out and you stand with people," she said.
She called the turnout "breathtaking."
Janet Southard of Springfield stood nearby. She said she went to the protest because she's concerned about the country losing its democracy.
"Because bit by bit, our president is disobeying the law, and he isn't being held accountable," she said.
K Miller was another rally attendee. She's from the Springfield area and is a part of the youth group at the GLO Center, which she pointed out recently received a threat.
She turned up to stand up for immigrants' rights.
"I feel like they get stepped on a lot, and they get overlooked for the things that they do for us," she said, "and the things that we have only because of them."
She called the current climate of the country "really dark and really dangerous," and she said, "I feel like there's just too much hate going around."