We Blocked ‘No Kings’ Parade NYC!
CPI Activists Held the Line, Standoffs with Marshals, NYPD
On March 28th, the Democratic Party’s coalition of liberal and corporate allies called “No Kings” protests across the country, demanding the ouster of President Donald Trump. While the U.S. public is overwhelmingly against the war, the organizers chose not to include opposition to the war in the demands of the protest, sparking outrage from various media outlets.
The Center for Political Innovation, as an organization focused on international solidarity and opposing globalism/imperialism as part of the fight to win justice for working families, mobilized forces from across the country to disrupt the rally in New York City with an anti-war message. Organizers from Pennsylvania, Boston, New Jersey, and Chicago joined local New York City activists. The slogan was: “Democrats could stop the war! Hands off Iran!”
The reality is that Democrats in Congress could block with Thomas Massie and others to stop the war and tie Trump’s hands, but have refused to do so. They are demagogically trying to ride anti-war sentiments for their own gain against Trump, while enabling the war to continue. Democrats remained seated during the State of the Union speech as he spoke on many issues, but when he lied about Iran’s peaceful nuclear energy program and made threats, the AIPAC-funded liberals were on their feet cheering. They have voted consistently to support the war as well.
At the pre-march rally organized by some Reformed Jewish synagogues and liberal NGOs at Columbus Circle, CPI members crashed the event, loudly blasting our message. Then organizers rushed downtown and formed a human chain at 7th Avenue and 38th Street. With Iranian and American flags, placards, and a large banner, along with bullhorns and a portable sound system, CPI held the line against Democrat marshals who tried to clear the street, ramming CPI activist Noah Shenk with their bicycles, shoving activists, and otherwise trying to clear the way for the woke, Democratic parade of deception.
Multiple attendees of the rally with anti-war views joined our impromptu picket line in the street. Multiple standoffs took place, and at one point the NYPD was brought in to clear CPI activists out of the way as we held the line with our anti-war message.
Video of the confrontations created a splash on the internet. Jimmy Dore and Neema Parvini shared the video across their platforms. Multiple TV news agencies reached out to CPI, asking permission to use the footage of the clashes in their reports on the protest.
The YouTube channel “Status Coup,” which has over a million subscribers, featured an extended interview with CPI activist Mahir Rahman in their video summing up the NYC march. In the video, Mahir declares:
“My name is Mahir. I’m basically part of the U.S. Center for Political Innovation. It’s a group that’s, uh, like an anti-war group. And basically, our focus for No Kings Day today is that we’re trying to bring light to the fact that it’s unfortunate that the No Kings Day organizers of the rally don’t include that Trump—that ‘king’ Trump—is also responsible for the illegal war against Iran and the bombing of an elementary school.
This was all caused and created not just because of Trump and Netanyahu, but because of the Epstein class. They’re focusing so much on Trump—they have all these caricatures of him: ‘Trump is bad.’ Clearly, he’s like the main—he’s a misguided president, he’s following. But who’s driving it? What’s the driving force? Because the whole point of this is that this is a war against working people here, and a war against working people in Iran. So it hurts both Americans and Iranians. And it’s just great that I’m holding the Iranian flag, and you have the American flag also. We also have the American flag too, because the countries are not supposed—the people don’t support this war.”
That evening, CPI held a spirited banquet with speeches. The event was attended by a handful of completely new people who were very excited about learning of the Innovationist project. Video of the banquet will be posted online soon.
CPI plans to continue representing the anti-war majority wherever possible and standing in solidarity with Iran against the brutal attack, carried out to serve a dying international financial order that is also a nightmare for the working people of this country. We will continue to loudly proclaim that the American working class and the global Axis of Resistance share a common destiny, and that the only future for the United States is breaking free from the old international order rooted in colonialism and joining with the new world rising in Eurasia.