The events are not unrelated, though none directly caused the others. In a fundamental way, the ritual, the resistance, and the tragedy are united by the spectre of political violence: the threat of it, the rejection of it, and the frightening reality of it.

A stark contrast emerged in attendance between the Trump administration’s Army birthday parade in Washington, DC, and the sweeping “No Kings” protests held nationwide.

Organizers say about 2,000 protests took place across every state in direct response to President Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington, D.C., marking the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday.