No Kings Rally security preps

Heads up if you’ll be in the Capitol City this weekend.

Organizers and police are preparing for as many as 150,000 people to march at the “No Kings” rally in St. Paul.

There will be temporary road closures starting just before noon until 1:30 p.m.

They include John Ireland Boulevard, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Wabasha Street.

“I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t dabble in politics much,” declares Pino Giovanni Lapari, owner of Pino’s Pizza.

With a crowd of perhaps thousands marching just outside his restaurant on Wabasha Street, he says his staff is hoping for more customers.

But they’re also prepared for anything.

“We’re just zero worried about it, you know, we have our own security,” Lapari notes. “If things get weird out there, we’ll lock the door, we’ll go out the back and leave. But as long as things stay peaceful, we’re going to be here.”

No Kings rally organizers say they are committed to non-violent action.

Still, they, too, say they’re prepared with hundreds of volunteer marshals, including violence interrupters on standby, trained in de-escalation techniques.    

“People are well trained on what to do, we’ve got backup ready,” explains Ann Treacy, a No Kings spokesperson. “Very often, it’s one or two detractors who want to get their message across. I saw a brass band at one event, come circle them and play them out.”

More than 300 law enforcement personnel will be on the ground, with state troopers at the Capitol complex, and St. Paul police, Ramsey County Sheriff deputies, and Department of Natural Resources officers on the streets.

“We’re in the Capitol City, we’re used to working with a lot of these same groups,” notes Senior Commander Jesse Mollner, with the St. Paul Police Department.

He says authorities want safe spaces for people to express their First Amendment rights, including counterprotesters, but that preparedness is the key.

“We always hope we’re not going to have violence, but that’s something we’re prepared to handle and deal with,” Mollner says. “Obviously, public safety is our number one concern.”

“For some of us, it’s an opportunity to show up together and be more of a joyous community,” Treacy adds. “We’ve been in the community patrolling, mutual aid, and protests at the Whipple Building. This is a place to kind of breathe for a little bit.”