October 20, 2025 12:57 PM UTC

Don't Be Like the "Denver Communists"

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• by: Colorado Pols

The second big “No Kings Day” protest took place on Saturday and attracted an estimated 7 million people across the country . The vast majority of protestors peacefully demonstrated in a manner that defied the silly Republican talking points that you were a “terrorist” or “hate America“; this sort of public protest is exactly what you should be doing if you love your country.

First, here’s The Denver Post coverage of Saturday’s rallies:

From the lawn of Denver’s Capitol to the streets of Grand Junction, Coloradans turned out across the state Saturday as part of the national “No Kings” movement to protest the policies and actions of President Donald Trump and his administration.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators in downtown Denver and in more than 50 Colorado cities and towns marched against the deployment of federal agents and military forces into U.S. cities, targeting of immigrant families, and threats to the country’s electoral, environmental protection, health care and education systems, according to organizers.

Demonstrators gathered peacefully along streets and overpasses, in parks and downtown districts, in Aurora, Colorado Springs, Littleton, Arvada, Thornton, Commerce City, Loveland, Broomfield, Longmont and Boulder.

Outside of the Front Range, organizers planned protests in small Eastern Plains communities, including Lamar and La Junta, and Western Slope towns such as Cortez and Steamboat Springs.

Not all protestors projected a jovial narrative, however. The “Denver Communists” celebrated some pretty disgusting stuff on its Facebook page, accompanied with some bonkers messages:

Though the event was heavily endorsed by genocidaire Kamala Harris and other Democratic Party leaders, we found that many in the crowd openly disdained the liberal electoral politics coming from the front. Our new signs mocking Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the Trump regime’s demonization of dissent, and the right-wing talking point about paid protestors got overwhelming support. They invited dozens of conversations about anti-fascism, the alt-right podcasting pipeline, and recent attacks of free speech. Lots of protesters went out of their way to claim “antifa.” [Pols emphasis]

We also busted out a vintage “American was never great” banner that we made in 2016, initially to protest a Trump rally before his first presidency, and later to protest a Charlie Kirk/TPUSA event. At the No Kings rally, our banner stood in stark contrast to the sea of patriotic regalia, colonial cosplay, and American flags — including one flown by the PSL at their booth. We have made a point of refusing to accommodate to this blue-MAGA, nationalist sentiment present in the anti-Trump movement, other socialists are content to tail the movement, catering to reactionary ideas in the name of “meeting people where they’re at.”

It always bears repeating, particularly as President Trump tries to stamp out any dissent in the name of fighting terrorism, that “Antifa” is not a specific group or thing even if some people claim it for themselves. As the BBC points out:

In 2020, then-FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress that Antifa was better defined as an ideology than as a formal organisation.

The “Denver Communist” rhetoric is absurd, as are these images (we’re blocking out faces because we don’t know if these people are okay with their photos being shared):

We’ll always defend the right of groups such as the “Denver Communists” to voice their opinions in the name of free speech. But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Celebrating violence of any kind is gross. Period.

Right-wing voices — such as the ‘X’ account “Libs of TikTok” — always try to stick “communists” into the broader bucket of “Democrats,” but it’s clear from the Denver Communists’ own rhetoric that they don’t view themselves the same way. These folks aren’t part of a “big tent” from a political perspective, even if they share a similar distaste for the Trump administration; they have much more in common with extremists on both sides of the aisle.

The “Denver Communists” are not partners with Democrats. They are their own thing, and that’s fine. But any group that celebrates violence, political or otherwise, shouldn’t have a place at anyone else’s table.