Vancouver protesters join global ‘No Tyrants’ rallies

Well over 100 people gathered at Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver Saturday afternoon to add their voices to those of Americans rallying against U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. (CTV News)

Well over 100 people gathered at Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver Saturday afternoon to add their voices to those of Americans rallying against U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

“We’re all here for a message to Mr. Trump that the world doesn’t appreciate what he’s doing to his country,” said rallygoer Christi, who asked CTV News not to use her last name.

More than 2,600 so-called “No Kings” rallies were scheduled across the U.S., and protesters gathered in Canadian and European cities as well.

In Canada, where King Charles III is the head of state, the protests were dubbed “No Tyrants” rallies.

As the rain came down, Vancouver rallygoers carried umbrellas alongside their signs denouncing Trump. Christi wore a sandwich board that read “Fight truth decay.”

Sharon Vogan recently relocated to Vancouver from California. She told CTV News she made the move because she’s a nurse practitioner and her skills are in demand here, but also because she wanted to “get more of a global view on what people think is happening in America.”

“I’m here to stand up for democracy,” Vogan said. “Democracy dies when good people are silent. And so, I refuse to be silent, no matter what country I’m in.”

Protesters portrayed Trump as an authoritarian would-be dictator, noting his willingness to ignore court rulings he doesn’t like, dispatch the National Guard to major cities without a request from the local government and instruct the Justice Department to prosecute his political opponents.

Trump’s Republican party, meanwhile, characterized the protesters as “communists,” “Marxists” and “antifa types,” with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the protests as a “Hate America Rally.”

Some of the signs on display among the Vancouver crowd referenced the “antifa” accusation, noting that the term means “anti-fascist.”

“Only fascists are afraid of antifa,” read one sign.

As for the suggestion that the protesters hate America, Vogan was adamant. She loves her home country.

“I love the America that it is meant to be,” she said. “That is the America I’m fighting for.”

With files from The Associated Press