Riverhead joins Long Island ‘No Kings’ events with downtown march, rally

Riverhead drew protesters from across eastern Suffolk yesterday for one of more than a dozen “No Kings” rallies and marches across Long Island. The “No Kings” events, which took place nationwide, focused on getting out the vote in the upcoming election and urging voters to vote early in person.

The Riverhead event, organized by Indivisible Long Island, took place on the county courthouse steps on Griffing Avenue, which was closed to traffic between Railroad Avenue and Second Street. 

Featured speakers included Suffolk County Legislator Greg Doroski, Butterfly Effect Project Executive Director Tijuana Fulford, and Southold Democratic Committee Chairperson Kathryn Casey Quigley.

“Two hundred and fifty years ago, we declared our independence from a king,” Doroski told a crowd of about 150 people that gathered after their downtown march.  “We didn’t replace him with another king. We wrote three words: We the people. Let’s say that together. We the people. But that only works when we show up, and that’s what you are doing here today, and that’s what we need to do going forward,” Doroski said. 

Doroski urged the crowd to vote early and to bring friends.

“Early voting starts Saturday, Oct. 21 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 1,” Doroski said. “Now, voting in person and early is very, very important. Voting by mail is great, but it doesn’t always get counted on Election Day. It can get delayed in the mail. This year, in particular, we need to win so big that they can’t rig it,” Doroski said. “Close races invite games, and I think we should expect that coming from this administration. So please vote early. Please bring your friends. Bring three friends, five friends. It’s important,” Doroski said.

Fulford, who said she’d been battling a cold all week and had lost her voice, came to address the crowd anyway. 

“I am not here to tell you who to vote for. I’m here to remind you that you have a voice and a voice that deserves to be heard, Fulford said, her own voice raspy and crackling. “This isn’t about what’s telling you which political party to support. It’s about recognizing responsibility that comes with having a choice, understanding the issues, and making informed decisions about the future.”

So many things demand our attention every day, Fulford said. There are so many family obligations to tend to, so many causes competing for our time and attention, she said. 

“Why am I here today? Because this is the thing that requires the attention,” Fulford said. “Voting allows us the opportunity to quiet all the other noises around us. Voting allows the opportunity to stop and go straight to the top,” She said. “You don’t like it? Vote. You don’t like what they’re doing? Vote. You don’t like how they’re responding to you? Vote. This is your time. This is your town. This is your dollar,” she said.  

As Fulford spoke, the PA system died. When organizers couldn’t get it back online, someone in the crowd handed up a bullhorn, which Fulford grabbed and continued speaking without missing a beat.

“Outrage without action is a toxic condition,” Fuford said. “It’s knowing something is hurting us, recognizing that something is wrong, and slowly coming up in trouble with doing nothing about it,” she said, then gave examples of common responses reflecting hopelessness: “It is what it is. Nothing’s ever gonna change. My goal doesn’t matter.”

And then there are those who spend time and energy arguing with other people on social media, Fulford said. “There will always be another siren story. There will always be another [person] to tell you that you are wrong,” she said. “Who cares? Get out and vote. Because right now, people are suffering. Suffering doesn’t have a political affiliation. Hunger doesn’t ask whether you’re a Democrat or Republican. Poverty doesn’t care who you voted for. Violence doesn’t check your voter registration, but it injures your community. We have families struggling to keep food on the table. Senior choosing between medication and paying their bills. Parents working two jobs are still unable to afford housing. According to the USDA, nearly 48 million Americans lived in food insecure households in 2024. Think about that,” she said.  

“It is time for us to move forward. These are the people’ lives, and no political disagreement should make them forget that lives are at stake,” Fulford said.

“So vote because it’s not your privilege, even though they’re making it seem like it’s a privilege. It is our right,” she said. 

Casey-Quigley called on the demonstrators to “make some beautiful noise.” She said people need to be together, in person, “talking, connecting, finding our humanity and reminding one another of each other’s humanity in a moment when technology and fascism and billionaires are more united than ever in their quest to divide and silence us,” she said.

“Please reach out to every single person in your phone and contact list, in your neighborhood, your network, your social media, your email contact list,” Casey-Quigley said. “Ask them to go vote and be noisy so that we can be beautifully heard everywhere.”

Casey-Quigley’s daughter, Hannah, age 15, sang “A Beautiful Noise” by Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile. Hannah performed a capella  because of the sound system malfunction. 

Allison Kanas, founder of Indivisible Long Island, wrapped up the event with her son Adler, who stood at her side. “He is the reason I do this,” she said. “I want him to live in a free country and a living planet, a country where no one is above the law and corruption isn’t just the way things work. I want that for him. I want that for his kids, and I want that for every single one of you,” she said. 

“But it isn’t guaranteed. It never was. Somebody has to fight for it, and today that somebody is us, Kanas said.

“The man tried to overthrow the last election and lost and he’s not done trying. They’ve already told us their plan out loud. Make voting harder. Send federal agents to the polling places. Make our votes easier to challenge. And when they still lose, which they will, they will seize the ballots and fight the count,” she said.

Kanas said the objective is to wear down the opposition, hoping people won’t show up at the polls. “Because when we show up, they lose,” Kanas said. 

“They’re building a future for a handful of tech billionaires, cameras tracking our every move, data centers drinking our water and swallowing our power, war, hatred, fear, terror. I don’t want to live in a world like that, and I don’t want my son growing up in it either. I refuse, just like all of you here today, I refuse to sit back and find out what that really feels like,” she said. “That’s what’s on the ballot. That’s what we’re about, and we’re not giving up.”

Paul Henry, who provided musical entertainment to open the event, closed it out with a performance of the Woody Guthrie classic ,“This Land Is Your Land.” 

Various nonprofits distributed literature and signed up volunteers in a tailgating area in the parking lot across from the courthouse.Among them were New York Civil Liberties Union, League of Women Voters and Planned Parenthood.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Denise Civiletti