Several hundred people turned out Saturday at Pacific Plaza downtown for a No Kings rally, one of many such demonstrations held nationwide two days before early voting opens in Texas.
The Dallas Morning News reported a crowd of hundreds at the plaza, where the event was set to run 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., according to the Dallas Observer. FOX 4 and CBS News Texas reported that people also gathered Saturday in Arlington, Denton, Frisco, Plano and Southlake. None of the outlets published crowd estimates for those sites.
A focus on the ballot
Indivisible Dallas organized the downtown event, and speakers from several groups used the stage to encourage voting, the Morning News reported. Stephanie Williams of Black Voters Matter, a group that calls itself nonpartisan, put it plainly: "Today is about early voting."
Denita Jones of the League of Women Voters of Dallas asked attendees to stay engaged after the rally ended. "A rally is not the movement," she told the crowd.
Attendees who spoke to reporters named immigration enforcement and the reach of presidential power among their concerns, and some carried signs backing James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, according to the Morning News. The paper said it saw no counterprotesters and no significant police presence at the plaza.
White House response
The White House has criticized the movement's message. FOX 4 reported that a spokesperson told USA Today the emphasis on voting showed organizers should rename the effort, and contended that Republican candidates are the better option for voters in November.
