*"No Kings" protesters draw honks of support from motorists in Kahului Saturday afternoon.*

By MATTHEW THAYER

A crowd of about 4,000 protestors, many of them waving signs taking President Donald Trump to task, lined Kaahumanu Avenue in Kahului Saturday afternoon.

The rally was one of about 2,000 "No Kings" events held nationwide.

"We had a feeling this was going to be a big one," said event organizer Marnie Masuda-Cleveland of Maui Indivisible. "Well, I think we're seeing our constitutional rights being just willfully and overtly eroded by this administration. And our democracy is descending into dictatorial governance and a police state."

Masuda-Cleveland pointed to the recent early-morning raid by ICE agents in Kahului as an example of Trump's policies hitting close to home.

"We're just seeing all the markers of fascism and people are willing to protest," she said. "I mean, we've been protesting since February. It's getting larger and larger and I think everyone wants to show we will not be tired. We will make sure that this doesn’t move forward and that our democracy remains intact.

"And I think it's going to be stronger than ever because as we say in organizing, the boss is the best organizer. When you have a really bad boss, the workers come out in droves to organize against them. The people are coming out in droves to organize against fascists and oligarchs in the United States and here on Maui.”

Signs ran the gamut from the humorous to profane. A pair of women wearing Handmaid's Tale costumes and carrying a sign and an American flag walked along the sidewalk at the protest. Their sign read, "I thought we were better than this. Maga, You asked for it. You got it. Now we have to live with the consequences of your poor choices."

Parking was hard to find, with some rally goers reporting they had to park blocks away and walk. The event was held on the same day as a military parade held in Washington D.C. to mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Army. It also coincided with the president's 79th birthday.

Makawao's Denise McCormick held a sign that read, "I like my president smarter than me."

"I'm disgusted with the way my country is going," McCormick said. "It's sad. We need our democracy back, instead of an oligarchy."