What started as a relatively quiet march of hundreds of demonstrators from Oklahoma City's Scissortail Park to City Hall eventually turned into a thunderous – and soaked – crowd of thousands of Oklahomans.
The majority of them were there to peacefully protest what some have called President Trump's authoritarian overreach. Some advocated for more action.
The rally in Oklahoma City was one of roughly 2,000 "No Kings" protests nationwide, organized in response to actions by the Trump administration, including a military parade in Washington celebrating the Army's 250th anniversary, which coincided with the President's 79th birthday.
Local organizers with the advocacy groups Indivisible Oklahoma and 50501OK, which helped organize the protests, made their approach clear to the crowd.
"This is a non-violent protest," one organizer said into the mic as the crowd gathered outside the Civic Center, just across the street from Oklahoma City Hall. "We are here to stand strong, to speak boldly, but never to escalate. Do not engage with agitators. Look out for each other."
As they spoke, deafening thunder rolled across downtown.
"Even the thunder agrees," one organizer said. The crowd cheered.
And every time thunder sounded after that, the crowd cheered again, for some it was in acknowledgement of the power in their advocacy, for others, knowing the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team is creeping toward an NBA Championship.
Many protesters arrived decked out in patriotic gear, pointing to peaceful protest as a form of advocacy with a rich history in the United States. Tera Cagle, a former teacher, attended the protest dressed as Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. His journey from ordinary citizen to political and scientific Renaissance man inspired Cagle to make him her classroom's "mascot."
Cagle said she believes Franklin would not support the actions of the current federal administration.
"I think that Ben would say resist. He'd say it is time," Cagle said. "Every voice matters. Everybody has to do what they can to help save what was built over the last 250 years."
So, she was there to make her voice heard.
"Our legislators are not providing the checks and balances that our Constitution lines out," she said. "And I think it comes down to the rest of us showing up and trying to do their jobs and remind them what's at stake."
Some Democratic lawmakers were in attendance at the event. Rep. Forrest Bennett gave a speech in which he described learning about the origins of the term "cracker," used to describe the usually poor white men in charge of whipping Black slaves on many plantations.
"The slave owner knew the best way to indemnify himself against the violence of the working class was to pit one poor person against another," Bennett said.
But one small group of demonstrators felt like unity in people's voices is just the start of real opposition to a government that would happily let them remain peaceful and silent.
Among them was Azriel, who wore a mask and asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution for his attendance. He said staying peaceful and non-violent is going to empower Trump.
"If we can get what we want, if we can get immigrants to stop being kidnapped from our communities, if we can stop this dictator in a peaceful way without anybody getting hurt. obviously, we want that," Azriel said. "But history has shown, and Trump is showing, that this message of peace is only going to benefit him."If he had his way, the thousands of people outside in the rain yelling at a building that state politicians don't even work in, he said, would be somewhere more relevant to ensure greater visibility.
"If you want to keep it peaceful, we could be protesting at an ICE detention facility," he said. "We could be protesting at these police stations where they're keeping immigrants. We could be protesting at the Devon Tower, where the people who lobby for what happens in the state are right now."
Azriel said he did not affiliate with any specific registered nonprofit or grassroots organization, but rather a loose coalition.
But while some demonstrators pushed for peaceful opposition to Trump, and others pushed for greater unrest and urgency, one woman was just at the protest to "see if Oklahomans had a soul."
She identified herself only as Taci, but shared that she's lived in Oklahoma for about two years after losing her husband and moving here from Wichita, another politically red state. She's a self-identified progressive.
"I don't know, it's hard," Taci said. "I haven't found like-minded people. But this is amazing. I am so encouraged."
Hate is not the answer, Taci said.
Meanwhile, two Minnesota state lawmakers were shot the same morning in what's being called an act of political violence. At least one, Rep. Melissa Hortman, was killed along with her husband. Sen. John Hoffman was wounded.
All four top legislative leaders in Oklahoma, in both parties, published a joint press release condemning political violence and mourning the loss of a fellow state lawmaker.
"This horrific act is not just an attack on these public servants and their families, it is an attack on every American who believes in the rule of law, the peaceful exchange of ideas, and the importance of civic duty," Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton said. "We can disagree strongly on policy and still hold space for one another's humanity."
Trump has also condemned the killings, saying such violence won't be tolerated.
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