From Staff Reports 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Thousands of people across Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina participated in “No Kings 2.0” rallies on Oct. 18, taking to the streets as part of a nationwide protest against the Trump administration,” and resulting in some street closures around downtown Asheville.

Indivisible Asheville announced that “16 ‘No Kings’” events were scheduled throughout the region, including Asheville, Hendersonville, Columbus (N.C), Brevard, Burnsville, Marion and other cities and towns.

In Upstate South Carolina, several rallies also were held, including in Greenville, Spartanburg and Seneca.

“According to organizers, these rallies are a way to push back against authoritarian policies and actions taken by President Donald Trump,” Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) reported on Oct. 19.

More than 2,200 “No Kings 2.0” rallies were held nationwide.

News 13’s “Comment Bubble” appearing after its story included the following assertions:

• ScreenNames — “The next time your party leaders choose a presidential candidate behind closed doors without holding a fair primary, start a NO KINGS protest.

“The next time your leaders try to force medical decisions on you — like ‘take the jab’ or ‘lose your job,’ start a NO KINGS protest.

“The next time your leaders ban accounts all over social media becasue they call dissent misinformation just to control the narrative, start a NO KINGS protest.

“The next time your leaders send billions of dollars overseas, while Americans struggle to pay rent or buy groceries and gas, start a NO KINGS protest.

'The next time unelected bureaucrats create laws through agencies instead of letting congress vote, start a NO KINGS protest. 

“There’s more, but you get it. 

• SezHoo — “So, your talking about Trump, right?”

• WAVLNATIVE — “The democratic cult!”

•Tom51 — “I would bet that half of the people, or even more, that were there couldn’t care less. They just wanted to be there and be seen.”

• Penguin82 — “I observed a ‘pack’ of them in the Harris Teeter parking lot in North Asheville. It was like a group of ‘giddy’ little kids going to a Halloween party.....”

• Commonsenseisback — “They were being paid.”