Southeast Missourian Photo gallery: ‘No Kings’ protest draws hundreds to Freedom Corner

On Saturday, June 14, hundreds gathered at Freedom Corner in Cape Girardeau for a local installment of the national “No Kings” Day of Defiance — a coordinated peaceful protest led by Indivisible SEMO and partners, Respect Missouri Voters and SEMO Protect Democracy. Together, they called attention to attacks on democracy and the growing threat of authoritarianism.

Participants lined Broadway with homemade signs that read everything from “Rejecting Kings Since 1776” to “Power to the People,” joining communities across the country in a grassroots push for voting rights, government accountability, and civic power.

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Mary Waggener of Cape Girardeau, volunteering at the Respect Missouri Voters booth, put it simply: “I want my vote to count. And when the majority of voters approve something, and legislators try to reverse that? I don’t think that’s right.”

Respect Missouri Voters is supporting a proposed 2026 constitutional amendment that would safeguard the state’s initiative process from political interference.

You can read the full article and see all photos on the Southeast Missourian here.