2nd No Kings Protest in Conroe Peaceful; Organizers Cooperative with Authorities

CONROE, TX -- In the four months since downtown Conroe played host to the first No Kings protest back in June the protestors seemed to cool a bit. The numbers appeared thinner this past Saturday, and gone were the Palestinian flags, and signs such as ‘8647,’ a code which means to kill President Trump, were not apparent. Although it was not as hot and humid as it was in June, there were less inflatable unicorn, dragon, chicken, and other costumes hovering around, the signs of serious protesters who demand to be heard. There was a police presence with Conroe officers, with the protesters mainly lining both sides of SH 105 between North San Jacinto and Main Streets, with Texas State Troopers on stand-by, but way less pronounced, plus there was no apparent drone overwatch as seen during the summer. Conroe Police Department Chief Jon Buckholtz was on hand, having met prior with the No Kings organizers about expectations, and no incidents were reported.

The chants were still there. “Show me what Democracy looks like … This is what Democracy looks like,” or “Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho Donald Trump has got to go.” There were lots of horns honking. A vastly white and senior aged crowd, with some minorities and younger protesters mixed in, all with the same argument of thinking that the United States will turn into North Korea, and Donald Trump is the devil. And speaking of The President, he mocked the protesters in a social media post thanking them for warding off a usurper to his office.

“I was very concerned a king was trying to take my place,” said Trump. “But thanks to your tireless efforts, I am STILL YOUR PRESIDENT.”

Protesters were dressed as nuns, veterans, at least one eagle, and a man carried a sign that read ‘Anti-Fasist Organizations,’ and below wrote all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces minus Space Force.

“I think most people here are scared of the fascistic nature of what’s going on,” said protester Christopher Whitten. “They are concerned about a secret police or gestapo, kidnapping American citizens, and you don’t know if they are real officers or not.”

Whitten went on to say he was concerned that there is going to be an end to free elections.

Conroe Police Department Chief Jon Buckholtz was stationed at North Thompson Street along Hwy 105, caddy corner to the Montgomery County Courthouse, confident in the peaceful nature of the crowd.

“I met with the organizers earlier in the week,” said Chief Buckholtz. “And they are pretty dedicated to keeping everyone safe out here.”

Protesters did interact with CPD Sgt Troester, who was controlling traffic at the courthouse, answering questions mainly, but for the most part the crowd was totally respectful of the police.

One issue that was of concern was the weekly farmers market that forms every Saturday along North Thompson in front of the Courthouse. The protesters were disturbing their usual attendance of dedicated and new customers. The weekly market was organized four years ago in 2021, focusing mainly on homemade and handmade goods, and with the protesters in downtown, they were down in the number of sellers that show for an average fall Saturday.

“It’s a ghost town,” said farmers market organizer Farralyn Withrow. “This week we are down to 28 booths from our normal of 45. And it has affected the downtown businesses as well.”

‘We Rise Up,’ the local organizers of the No Kings Conroe event, just became aware of the issue and plan on making changes for future events.

“We certainly didn’t want to impose on the businesses,” said Vicki Scott, of the WRU leadership team. “So we are planning on moving over one block north in the future.”

Not everyone was protesting. A husband and wife team of Trump and Charlie Kirk supporters who requested to remain unidentified, were standing and checking out the scene. The wife, a 5th generation Conroe native, was a recent convert to the Republicans after seeing Democrats drag their feet in policy making, as compared to President Trump. Neither reported being harassed by the protesters.

The number of protesters varied from 300-600 for the event. Organizers vowed to make sure trash and any signage would be removed from the area.

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