'We Will Never Break': Thousands Rally At No Kings Protest In Camden Co.

COLLINGSWOOD, NJ — Thousands of people took to the streets in Camden County as part of the nationwide No Kings protest on Saturday, decrying President Donald Trump's administration and military parade while promoting visions of unity and equality in the United States.

No Kings Protests took place in more than 2,100 cities and towns across the nation, according to national organizers. More than 5,000 people attended the Camden County protest, according to Cooper River Indivisible, the group that organized the local event.

Protesters gathered in Westmont and marched to Collingswood, where a rally took place. Speakers included local politicians, labor leaders and Muhammed Emanet, the son of Jersey Kebab owners Celal and Emine Emanet, who immigration authorities detained earlier this year at the family's Haddon Township restaurant.

At the rally, Muhammed Emanet stood in the bed of a pickup truck, discussing his family's lives since they emigrated from Turkey nearly 20 years ago.

"I came to America as an 8-year-old thinking we were going to live an American dream that we saw on TV overseas," Emanet said. "When we arrived, even though some circumstances may have been against us, the people of this nation and your hearts are what made this nation into a dream for us."

Emanet also revealed that he, like his parents, is also facing deportation. He says he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2020, when he turned 21 and was removed from his parents' files.

They released him from custody, since he had already paid for his upcoming semester at college, Emanet said. But he'll return to an immigration court in Newark on Aug. 8 for a deportation hearing, he says.

"I would be honored to stay among these loving people for the rest of my life," Emanet said, leading to the crowd chanting, "You're our neighbor."

Speakers also included Collingswood Mayor Daniela Solano-Ward and Petal Robertson, an educator who is secretary-treasurer for the New Jersey Education Association — the state teacher's union.

Robertson told the crowd she was the "red rover" champion at Woodland Elementary School, using the children's game that involves locking arms to build a human chain as a metaphor for community power.

"I wanted to tell you, Collingswood, we are red rover champions out here," Robertson said. "We're locked in. I don’t care how you run at us. We might waver, we might shake, but we will never break. I’m locked in with you even if you don’t look like me. Even if you don’t love like me, I am locked in with you."