I am not a terrorist, and neither are you. Join us at No Kings rally on Oct. 18. | Opinion

If you are alarmed by the outlandish propaganda from Mike Johnson (Speaker of the US House of Representatives) and other extremists who are calling the No Kings Day celebrations “terrorist events” and “hate rallies,” I write to assure you from personal experience that nothing could be further from the truth.

I am not a terrorist. I am a lawyer, devoted to the rule of law.

When I attended the No Kings celebration on June 14, Flag Day, I carried an American flag. I celebrated the right of people to assemble peacefully and to exercise freedom of speech, both rights protected by the rule of law embodied in our U.S. Constitution.

And I was not alone. I was joined by Republicans, Democrats, Independents, people of faith and their leaders, young people and elderly folks, people from all walks of life. Congressman Andy Barr, your constituents were there, even if you were not.

The same can be expected on Saturday, October 18, the next No Kings Day to be observed nationwide, including downtown Lexington, from 1-4 p.m.

Some people will use their freedom to carry signs of protest, and there is plenty to protest at this point: secret police in masks violently assaulting people in their homes without search or arrest warrants; illegal tariffs and impoundment of funds; boats being blown up with as much glee as children playing video games, all without due process and in violation of both international and U.S. law; the invasion of our American cities by armed forces being urged to use us— we, the people! — as “training grounds,” all in violation of the rule of law. I could go on.

But there will also be much to celebrate: freedom of assembly, freedom of movement and thought and speech, and freedom to petition the government to do better, and to remind it that we, the people, are not the enemy.

I am not a terrorist. I am a grandmother, a churchgoer, and a former Girl Scout, still trying to live up to that oath: “On my honor, I will try to do my duty to God and my country…”

That is who I am, and how I was raised, by a school teacher/homemaker mother and a father who landed in Normandy on D-Day +6 to fight fascism in Europe. We won! My parents’ entire social life revolved around church, and I am still there regularly today. They subscribed to newspapers from Louisville, Lexington, Whitesburg, and London, Ky., staying engaged as the “informed citizenry” on which democracy depends. I try to do the same, staying away from social media and relying on reputable news sources instead.

I am not a terrorist. l am a member of your book club, hiking group, bar association, neighborhood meetings and Sunday School class. And the thing I look forward to most about the next No Kings Day is that I will be joined by millions of people, all across America, to celebrate democracy and freedom.

I am not a terrorist, and neither are you. Come and join us. You will see neighbors, friends, relatives and people of good will all celebrating that we have No Kings in America.

Anne Chesnut is a Lexington attorney, churchgoer, book club member and former Girl Scout.