WASHINGTON, D.C. — Even before the No Kings rallies kicked off last weekend, some Republicans cast the protests in a sinister light. House Speaker Mike Johnson called them " Hate America " rallies. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that they would attract "the most unhinged in the Democratic party."

Instead, the rallies were most notable for a funhouse Noah's Ark of frogs, pandas, koalas, woodchucks, sharks and lobsters. Taking a page from the protest playbook in Portland, people showed up in inflatable animal costumes.

In Washington, a poodle and a chicken danced to drum music with three dinosaurs next to the National Gallery, a short walk from the U.S. Capitol. Scott Rohrbach, a senior optical engineer at NASA, came dressed as a unicorn. It was not his first choice.

"I would

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