To the Editor:

The United States Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, and peaceful protests. The recent “No Kings” protests were likely nothing more than free speech, proving that there is no king.

Locally, people demonstrated freely their displeasure with President (or “King”) Trump. They appear to have been genuine, grassroots protests, though those protests may have been financed by big-money special interests and people.

Across Trump’s America, these well coordinated protests were publicized and lauded by the left and many media voices. Were these recent local, grassroots “No Kings” protests actually funded by  “Indivisible,” which is in turn funded by notoriously left-wing ultra 1%er George Soros, to the tune of  $3,000,000?

Such a possibility, given the clear impropriety and dishonesty of such behavior, is distressing enough to warrant investigation by journalists and legal authorities, in order to protect our democracy. These two essential elements of a functioning democracy must protect that democracy, as they did during the many investigations of President Trump. Much as when the Federal Election Commission investigated and then fined former New York Senator Hillary Clinton, these elements of our democracy must now investigate the credible, grave possibility of big money astroturfing America.

Imagine reflexive rejection of such investigations by government and the free press. Our children and theirs would have to live with the kind of corruption endured in communist and National Socialist countries. Some are above the law and others aren't.

Such corruption is only ended when enough subjects of it are willing to pay all to end it for their own children and grandchildren. What foolishness would impel a lack of curiosity and investigation by those empowered to inquire effectively?

Could our democracy survive such apathy at best, and such partisan corruption at most, if the recent local, grassroots “No Kings” protests were funded by “Indivisible,” which is in turn funded by notoriously left-wing ultra 1%er George Soros, to the tune of $3,000,000? 

Edgar V. Tolmie

Altamont

Editor’s note: Billionaires of all political stripes fund groups that push their preferred sentiments, and some of the organizations working on the “No Kings” movement have received grant money or other funds from charities with ties to billionaires such as George Soros, according to Snopes, which looked into the origin of the rumor you repeat.

Eunic Epstein-Ortiz, a national spokesperson for No Kings, said “No Kings is not an organization, nor is it a formal entity that can accept donations. It is a coalition of over 270+ partners, and a decentralized movement driven by volunteers and activists across the country. Organizations support the No Kings coalition by providing training, toolkits, and limited resources, but the vast majority of events are organized, promoted, and funded locally by grassroots volunteers.”

Soros’s Open Society Foundations has a searchable database that lists all grants, including $3 million to the Indivisible Project in 2023. A spokesperson for Open Society Foundations, Sean Savett, told Snopes that the charity network supports “a wide range of independent organizations that work to deepen civic engagement through peaceful democratic participation …. However, we did not provide any funding to organizations specifically for the No Kings rallies. I’d add that our grantees make their own decisions about their work, consistent with the law and the terms of their grant agreements.”