LEXINGTON — A mood of ebullient defiance reigned on a cold, bright Saturday at the green in front of the Lexington Visitors Center as an estimated 2,000 people rang out with nearby cries from 250 years ago: “No kings!”
Asked why she was there and what good would it do, Francesca B. Bichisecchi, a retired Arlington teacher, was clear: “We all must speak up. … We all need to be seen.”
Holding a sign saying “Restore Truth – End Chaos,””the artist and musician said, “This demented man … won’t ignore us.”
After music by local band Cozmic Crush, emcee Toby Sackton, president of Lexington Alarm!, the event’s main organizer, quoted the conclusion of President Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”: “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Indeed, he said, “We’re here; we’re not afraid. …Fear is a weapon of control; trust is a weapon of resistance.” Sackton introduced Layla Farnham and Ayla Modirzadeh-March, both juniors, who led the recent ICE Out walkout at Lexington High School.
Arlington’s first No Kings rally draws 3,000
Farnham said she helped bring an “incredible range of students together” for the March 9 walkout protesting the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Why did they do it?
She spoke about those close to her. While she is white, others in her family have roots in Mexico and Africa. This action was for all immigrants threatened by ICE.
Modirzadeh-March, who is part-Iranian, focused on the words and deeds of Alexander Hamilton, one of the U.S. founders who was born out of wedlock in the Caribbean. An immigrant who spoke out against kings inspires us still, she said. Calling out in the cadences of a minister of a black church, Savina Martin, a U.S. Army Veteran and chair of Massachusetts Poor People’s Campaign, cried: “We’re not gonna take it any more.”
The creative signs held throughout the crowd reflected that, including this one: “I Hate to Have to Repeat Myself. – History.”
The group Indivisible, a national organizer, said more than 3,100 registered for U.S. events, and at least 8 million people protested, making it the largest protest in U.S. history. Steve Singer, representing Lexington Alarm!, which organized the event with Indivisible Lab, said his crowd estimate was “conservatively at somewhere over 2,000.” He added that about 75 people got on our buses for the rally on the Boston Common. That event drew an estimated 180,000 people, CBS News reported.
This news story, published March 31, 2026, was reported and written by YourArlington founder Bob Sprague.
