Denver police arrest 17 people in connection with “No Kings” protest, department says
Denver police officers deployed pepper balls and smoke at one group of protesters at the "No Kings" rally in Denver
By Austen Erblat
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DENVER (KCNC) — Seventeen people were arrested in connection with Saturday’s “No Kings” protest in Denver — one of over 2,000 affiliated protests across the country, in which organizers say over 5 million people attended to protest the Trump administration and its policies and actions.
Police didn’t immediately provide a breakdown of who was charged with what or why, but the protest and related marches shut down streets throughout the day and into Saturday night. The charges against those 17 people, however, included resisting arrest, obstruction of streets, failure to obey a lawful order, and unlawful throwing of projectiles.
One group of protesters clashed with police near West Colfax Avenue and Speer Boulevard near the entrance to Interstate 25, police said, and another group allegedly attempted to enter I-25 closer to 20th and Blake Streets.
Around 9:20 p.m., Denver police say some protesters threw rocks and other objects there and near West Colfax Avenue and North Osage Street and officers in the area declared an unlawful assembly.
Protesters in those areas remained in the area, with some starting to throw objects at officers, police said, and officers at the scene shot pepper balls and launched smoke, and the crowd left. A department spokesman said tear gas wasn’t used.
Then, around 10 p.m., one protester allegedly started a small fire in the street near West 14th Avenue and Lincoln Street near the State Capitol. The fire burned out on its own and the roadway was already closed to traffic due to the protest. Police didn’t say if the person accused of starting that fire is among the 17 people arrested.
Several thousand people attended the Denver protest alone, and both Denver police and national organizers of the “No Kings” protests celebrated the rallies as overall peaceful.
“Since approximately noon today, DPD has managed five demonstrator marches near the State Capitol Building and in the downtown area. Those marches were peaceful,” Denver police said Saturday night.
Protests occurred in cities and towns, large and small, across the country, and Colorado saw dozens of protests, including in communities like Boulder, Castle Rock, Golden, Parker, Northglenn, Steamboat Springs, and beyond.
“With hundreds of events still underway, today’s No Kings actions have already drawn more than 5 million participants,” protest organizers said in a statement. “They brought joy, drums, banners, and faith. They came not to clash-but to claim what is ours: the right to gather, to speak, and to rise. And rise we did-with dignity, love, and powerful resolve. Turnout was overwhelmingly more than initially anticipated. Organizers and local law enforcement reported over 200,000 in New York, over 100,000 in Philadelphia, and in some towns like Pentwater, Michigan saw 400 people join in their small town with a population of 800.”
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