Kirk Moss stood in the pouring rain carrying a 12-foot-tall papier-mâché caricature of President Donald Trump. The structure’s orange skin, puckered lips, navy suit and red tie – a classic Trump fashion choice – blew in the breeze.
Moss was one of several veterans who joined Gainesville and High Springs residents June 14 as part of a nationwide wave of “No Kings Day” demonstrations, with more than 75 in Florida and over 2,000 nationwide.
The demonstrations, organized by the 50501 movement, were geared toward fighting deportations, cuts to federal services and attacks on civil rights.
Though veterans nationally remain a conservative group, with nearly 63% of veteran voters identifying with or leaning toward the Republican Party in the 2024 elections, those at the June 14 protests said their oath to defend the Constitution doesn’t end when their service does.
Moss, a 60-year-old High Springs resident, served in the Air Force for nearly 25 years. After marching in Gainesville’s protest, he traveled 40 minutes to High Springs for its own protest. The difference in energy from one protest to the next felt like he was “behind enemy lines,” he said.
Unlike Gainesville, multiple emergency response vehicles, including police and fire rescue, observed the High Springs protest. The small team watched the demonstration from the sidewalk and aided the crowds crossing the streets.
Serving both at home and overseas, the military showed Moss how to unlearn “taught” racism from his southern childhood. He wishes more people understood how unsettling veterans’ experiences are, especially those fighting back against Trump, he said.
“The veterans that have worked and put their lives on the line, they're not lying,” Moss said. “They want to be taken care of, but they're not.”
Mark DeFord, a 39-year-old Archer resident, served as a Marine infantryman from 2006 to 2010. He was stationed in Twentynine Palms, California, the same base stationing the 700 Marines deployed to Los Angeles.
Trump deployed roughly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in response to recent immigration protests. The deployment occurred without the approval of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the deployment on the grounds it violated the Tenth Amendment and exceeded presidential authority. Within hours, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on the order, allowing federal forces to remain in place while the legal battle continues.
DeFord said he attended Gainesville’s protest because he felt the military’s overall appearance has been “bastardized and defiled” under the Trump administration.
“There’s no honor left,” DeFord said. “Now, service members are just tools to strip Americans of their freedoms and violate the Constitution and weaken our democracy.”
He believes the military is a “haven” for propaganda, where a service member’s training and conditioning “dehumanizes anyone who we’re sent against,” making it easier to “kill them,” he said.
DeFord said it’s important the military remains apolitical. The deployment of troops to civilian protests will affect recruitment, retention and public trust. If it doesn’t drive down recruiting numbers, it’ll drive down the quality of recruits, he said.
“Those potential recruits who are intelligent enough to make sense of this and have a realistic understanding of the situation won't want to join,” he said.
Luis Maceira, a 52-year-old High Springs resident, served in the Marines for over 20 years. He was proud to serve his country when he began as an infantry unit leader in Hawaii in 1996 and retired as a Gunnery Sergeant. Maceira attended Gainesville’s protest “for freedom,” he said.
When his superiors asked something of him during his deployment, he said he completed the tasks because he knew it was right. Now, he feels service members must sort through political ideology before making choices, he said.
“You have young men and women that joined to defend the Constitution, and now they're doing that, but against Americans, just because of someone's ego,” Maceira said. “We’ve never seen that.”
While service members mustn’t share the same opinions, Maceira said the military has become “so political” that service members become skeptical of each other, including trust on the battlefield, accurate representation and whether they’re even fighting for the same cause.
Maceira said the changing nature of military deployment for domestic protests violates traditional military boundaries, noting it’s something the country must “get used to nowadays.”
“It’s happening right there on TV,” he said. “If it can happen in L.A., it could happen in Chicago, it could happen in D.C., it could happen anywhere.”
He said he wishes more people understood veterans aren’t just citizens who served in the military but are a community coping with national crises, including civil rights, healthcare access and homelessness.
David Rice, a 27-year-old Gainesville resident, served in the Marine Corps Reserves from 2016 to 2022. He attended Gainesville’s protest with his wife, motivated by how the Los Angeles deployment “goes against all the training” he’s received.
The “No Kings Day” protests were also a response to “Flag Day,” the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary and the military parade held in Washington, D.C.
Rice said the military parade infuriated him, calling it a day of “self-celebration” for Trump. June 14’s military parade coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday and cost between $25 million and $45 million.
“All the homeless veterans and people coming back that need help mentally and physically,” Rice said. “That $45 million could go a long way to start building proper programs and foundations.”
While Rice encourages young people interested in joining the military to “be diligent and go for it,” he warns there’s currently a lot of turmoil and uncertainty.
“I am severely proud to be a Marine and to have served our country,” he said. “But I think there's going to be a time where you might need to go against the grain and fight from the inside.”
Contact Sara-James Ranta at sranta@alligator.org. Follow her on X @sarajamesranta.
Sara-James Ranta is a journalism senior, minoring in sociology of social justice and policy. She previously served as Metro's K-12 education reporter. In her free time, SJ is watching a new show, listening to EDM or discussing Star Wars.
