MACON, Ga. — Hundreds of people gathered Saturday in Macon, about 80 miles south of Atlanta, for another round of No Kings demonstrations. But the event abruptly ended when the local sheriff was invited up to address concerns about his agency’s cooperation with federal immigration officers. She Keene, an organizer with the advocacy organization Macon Rising, […]
Kim Martin and stepson Landen Martin from Macon, Ga, came to the No Kings 3 demonstration about 80 miles south of Atlanta because they haven't seen the change yet they hoped to see from the first two protests. Kim Martin said that she hopes "an actual" goal comes out of the demonstration today, and "showing up" is not enough. Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder
MACON, Ga. — Hundreds of people gathered Saturday in Macon, about 80 miles south of Atlanta, for another round of No Kings demonstrations. But the event abruptly ended when the local sheriff was invited up to address concerns about his agency’s cooperation with federal immigration officers.
She Keene, an organizer with the advocacy organization Macon Rising, told the crowd as she introduced Bibb County Sheriff David Davis that organizers had met with Davis and had a “civil” and “good dialogue” about things they both agreed and disagreed on. Keene asked him if he would participate in community outreach, saying, “he is here today.”
But protestors kept yelling, saying that “nobody wants to hear from him” before chanting “this is what democracy looks like.”
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Davis, who opted to address a few people instead as the crowd dispersed, said that the sheriff’s office, which has had a 287(g) Program agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since February 2025, is only following the law by holding immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization for 48 hours to allow ICE to take them into custody. Davis said he “doesn’t have control over ICE.”
“ICE is a federal agency, and we really don’t have much jurisdiction over what a federal agency does,” Davis said. “But if they come here and mistreat our citizens and mistreat our law enforcement folks, we’re going to be a documenter of facts, and we’re going to … make sure that they treat our citizens in a legal manner.”
In a statement sent after the demonstration, Keene said that Macon Rising, which faced criticism for inviting him to speak, is focused on bringing people together “around shared values of democracy, safety and transparency,” but that they respect other organizations’ approaches.
“Our decision to invite him to speak at the rally is rooted in that commitment to public accountability and direct communication. We believe our community deserves the opportunity to hear from and engage with those in positions of authority, especially on issues that impact their safety and rights,” Keene said.
Before the demonstration’s abrupt ending, an estimated 500 to 600 people from the Macon area gathered at Rosa Parks Square to protest Trump administration policies that protestors and speakers say are a threat to democracy.
“He is single-handedly destroying the global order that kept us prosperous and at peace since World War II,” said Lizella resident Jack Mahaney, an engineering professor at Mercer University.
Kim Martin from Macon and her stepson, Landen Martin, said they attended the demonstration because they hadn’t seen the change they hoped to see from the first two protests. Kim said that she hopes “an actual” goal comes out of the demonstration today, and “showing up” is not enough.
“We haven’t seen the change that we desire since we protested the first time, and this is just one of the many actions I feel like we’re taking to try to bring about change,” Kim said.
State Sen. Josh McLaurin from Sandy Springs, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, said that public demonstrations and pushback are what are keeping the country from falling into fascism and encouraged the audience to push back against policies from the current administration.
“It was public opinion that made the would-be tyrants start to reconsider the completely senseless tariff policies,” McLaurin said.
The Macon event was one of more than 3,000 demonstrations that were planned Saturday across the United States for the third round of No Kings rallies, including dozens in Georgia.
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