# What Happened in Your Hometown: DeLand's Role in the "No Kings" Movement

**For those who've moved away but still call DeLand home—here's what happened in our community on June 14, 2025**

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## Remember That Intersection by Woodland Boulevard?

If you grew up in DeLand, you probably know the corner of South Woodland Boulevard and New York Avenue West. Maybe you drove through it heading to Stetson, or passed it on your way downtown. On Saturday morning, June 14, 2025, that familiar intersection became part of something much bigger than our small college town.

Your neighbors—people you might have gone to high school with, folks who shop at the same Publix your family did—gathered there as part of **the largest coordinated political demonstration in American history**. Over 5 million people in 1,800+ cities held simultaneous "No Kings" protests, and DeLand was one of them.

*Local DeLand residents participating in the June 14 No Kings demonstration, showing the community engagement that characterized the day*

*More scenes from DeLand's peaceful demonstration, where neighbors gathered to participate in a national moment of democratic expression*

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## From a Reddit Post to Your Hometown Streets

Here's something that might surprise you: the entire "No Kings" movement started on Reddit. Back in January 2025, someone posted a hashtag—#50501—that stood for "50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement." By June, that digital spark had somehow reached the people you used to see at Friday night football games and Sunday morning church services.

The timing wasn't random. June 14th was President Trump's 79th birthday, and he was throwing himself a multimillion-dollar military parade in Washington D.C.—tanks rolling down the streets on Flag Day. But instead of watching that spectacle, your former neighbors chose to **gather peacefully in public spaces**, carrying American flags and signs that read "Rejecting Kings since 1776."

*The official No Kings movement logo that connected DeLand's local demonstration to a nationwide network of similar protests*

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## It Wasn't Just DeLand—The Whole Region Came Alive

If you still have friends scattered around Central Florida, they probably saw similar scenes in their own communities. The regional coordination was remarkable:

### **Your Old Stomping Grounds Joined In**

**New Smyrna Beach** (you know, where you probably went for spring break in high school) had over **600 people** line State Road 44. The photos show neighbors in red, white, and blue, many carrying homemade signs.

*New Smyrna Beach protesters embraced patriotic themes, with red, white, and blue dominating the peaceful demonstration*

*Rachel Over from Edgewater displays her homemade protest sign at the New Smyrna Beach demonstration, representing the grassroots nature of the movement*

**Daytona Beach** saw the biggest Volusia County turnout—**police estimated over 1,000 people** gathered around City Hall. Remember how we used to complain that nothing ever happened in our area? Well, this definitely qualified as "something happening."

*Over 1,000 people gathered at Daytona Beach City Hall, making it the largest demonstration in Volusia County that day*

*The variety of protest signs at Daytona Beach reflected diverse concerns, from constitutional issues to immigration policy*

*A protest organizer uses a megaphone to remind participants to stay peaceful and off the streets, emphasizing the commitment to nonviolent demonstration*

Even **Orlando** (where some of us ended up for college or work) had thousands gather downtown. **Casselberry** had over 1,000 people show up at a busy intersection—apparently, our whole region was feeling the same way about things.

*More than 1,000 people participated in the Casselberry intersection protest, showing how the movement reached suburban communities throughout Central Florida*

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## The Tampa Bay Connection

Even **Tampa Bay area** (maybe where you moved for work?) was part of this. In **Gulfport**, 200 people demonstrated along the waterfront—in streets that had been flooded during Hurricane Helene just months earlier. There's something powerful about communities still recovering from natural disaster finding energy for political engagement.

*200 protesters gathered along Gulfport's waterfront in an area still recovering from Hurricane Helene, demonstrating the resilience of community engagement*

*Gulfport demonstrators displayed a variety of "No Kings" signs, showing the grassroots creativity that characterized the movement*

*Wide participation across age groups was evident at the Gulfport demonstration, reflecting broad community engagement*

*Protesters gathered in Gulfport streets that had been flooded with four feet of storm surge during Hurricane Helene, adding poignant symbolism to the demonstration*

The **St. Petersburg area** around Tyrone Mall (you probably remember that place) had protesters lining streets for several blocks, with cars driving around showing support.

*"No Kings" signage was prominent at the St. Petersburg area demonstration, clearly communicating the movement's anti-authoritarian message*

*Every corner was packed with protesters in the St. Petersburg area, demonstrating the widespread community response*

*"Resist" messaging appeared throughout the Tampa Bay area protests, reflecting the movement's call for democratic resistance*

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## What Made This Different

If you're wondering how DeLand—a place where the biggest excitement was usually Stetson homecoming or the Autumn Antique Fair—ended up part of a national political movement, you're not alone. Here's what made this remarkable:

### **It Started Where You'd Least Expect**
The movement began on Reddit (yes, really) but ended up reaching people who probably don't know what Reddit is. Your former neighbors didn't organize through Facebook groups or fancy apps—they heard about it through **word of mouth, local connections, and community networks** that have been part of DeLand for generations.

### **It Felt Like Home**
Unlike some political events that feel imported from elsewhere, this had a distinctly local flavor. People carried American flags—remember how patriotic DeLand always was?—and signs that emphasized **constitutional values rather than partisan politics**. It was classic DeLand: independent-minded people making their own decisions about civic participation.

### **Everyone Stayed Cool**
Despite some heated rhetoric from Sheriff Wayne Ivey over in Brevard County (he threatened protesters with "attack dogs and deadly force"), the actual demonstrations remained **entirely peaceful**. That's very much in character for our area—people can disagree strongly but still be civil about it.

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## Why This Matters for DeLand

Living away from home, you might wonder: what does this say about the place we grew up? A few things stand out:

**DeLand Isn't Politically Passive**: For a small college town that often felt sleepy, the fact that neighbors organized and showed up for a national political moment suggests **our community has more civic engagement** than it sometimes appears.

**Local Networks Still Work**: In an age of social media and digital everything, the fact that a Reddit-born movement reached DeLand through **traditional community connections** shows that hometown relationships still matter for political organizing.

**The Stetson Connection**: Having a university in town likely helped. College communities often provide **organizational experience and civic engagement models** that spread into the broader community.

**Florida Political Culture**: DeLand's participation reflects broader trends in Florida politics—communities finding ways to engage in democracy even when the state-level political environment is contentious.

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## The Bigger Picture

Your hometown's participation in the "No Kings" movement might seem like a small thing—a few dozen people at a familiar intersection on a Saturday morning. But it was part of something historically significant: **the largest coordinated political demonstration in American history**.

The fact that it reached places like DeLand, not just major metropolitan areas, suggests that **democratic engagement remains alive** in American communities of all sizes. The movement's success in translating viral hashtags into real-world community action offers hope for how ordinary citizens can still organize for political expression.

In a time when much political discourse happens in digital echo chambers, seeing neighbors gathering at street corners with homemade signs represented a return to **fundamental democratic practices**. The movement proved that even in politically divided times, communities can find peaceful ways to engage in civic life.

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## What People Back Home Are Saying

While there wasn't much local Reddit discussion about the DeLand event (unlike some university towns), that absence might actually be significant. It suggests the demonstration reached **beyond digital-native demographics** to include neighbors who might never encounter a political hashtag online but would show up when their community was organizing.

This reflects something important about DeLand's character: **it's a place where civic engagement happens through traditional community networks** rather than just social media organizing.

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## Looking Forward

Whether you've moved to Jacksonville, Orlando, Atlanta, or somewhere further away, the June 14 demonstrations show that your hometown remains **a place where neighbors care about democratic participation**. In an era when political engagement often feels abstract or distant, DeLand proved that local communities can still be spaces for meaningful civic action.

The "No Kings" movement may fade from headlines, but it demonstrated something lasting about places like DeLand: **ordinary people still have the capacity to organize peacefully for political expression**, regardless of community size or partisan divisions.

For those of us with DeLand roots, that's something to be proud of.

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*This report was compiled from extensive documentation of the No Kings Movement across Central Florida, including professional photography from local news outlets and community media organizations.*

**A Note for DeLand Natives**: If you participated in or witnessed these events, we'd love to hear your perspective. The historical record is still being written about this remarkable day in American civic life—and DeLand was part of it.