About a month after a calm afternoon No Kings rally turned sour in downtown Macon, two of Middle Georgia’s most prominent activist groups have hit a crossroad ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Macon Rising organized the No Kings protest in partnership with several other organizations, including Middle Georgia Democratic Socialists of America, the region’s largest activist group.
The rally was part of more than 3,000 demonstrations across the U.S. opposing President Donald Trump and his administration.
Now, DSA leaders say they will no longer work with Macon Rising after feeling “slighted” by their decision to invite Bibb County Sheriff David Davis to the rally.
“It is a little saddening, honestly. Prior to this, we had cultivated a pretty good relationship with different members of Macon Rising, and we were optimistic about working together,” DSA co-chair Will Burnside said.
Fellow co-chair Julie Colton said she learned about Davis’s speech from a leaked email between Macon Rising organizers. This came as a surprise, Colton said, as multiple organizations involved in the rally had not supported Davis speaking.
Burnside said that after seeing the email, DSA made phone calls and emails to Macon Rising, warning that Davis’s involvement could damage their long-term relationship. When that didn’t work, DSA “gradually” escalated their approach, according to Burnside.
After would-be emcee DeMarcus Beckham received text messages from members of DSA, he decided to drop out just days before the protest.
One message read, “David Davis is going to be platformed at no kings, DSA is not happy about it, and is going to fuck it up.”
The Macon Pride co-founder said he holds a close relationship with Macon Rising, but chose to drop his role primarily because of views on Davis’s involvement.
“I’ve only had great interactions with [Davis],” Beckham said. “But I will say, maybe a rally, him talking on public safety was not the best platform in my eyes. I told the organizers this.”
DSA organizers, who frequently worked with Macon Rising, led the charge in counterprotesting Davis’s involvement. The opposing crowd called out against jail conditions, security contracts and the department’s participation in Georgia’s legally required 287(g) partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
At the rally, Davis said he fulfills the “bare minimum” requirements in the ICE partnership, which all county jails are required to sign. The agreement allows ICE officers 48 hours to detain people held in Georgia’s county jails. Certain Sheriff’s deputies are also trained to carry out immigration enforcement within the jail.
While anti-ICE signs appeared all across the lawn during the booing of Davis, Colton said that 287(g) is not Bibb County’s only connection to ICE.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office recently spent $1.6 million in grants to install Flock Safety cameras across the city. These devices read and log license plates and vehicle models. Flock Safety says it does not partner with ICE directly, but local law enforcement can hand over footage to federal agencies.
DSA is actively campaigning against Flock cameras.
Macon Rising’s decision to invite Davis was a “major slight against us and against many of the other organizations,” Burnside said. “The real issue with him being invited is that we were and still are actively engaged in campaigns to get reform in the Macon-Bibb County Jail as well as to reduce the amount of ICE collaboration in Macon.”
Beckham and Colton said there were agreements between Macon Rising and other organizers to host a “town-hall” style meeting with Davis, but not a platform at a rally.
“[Macon Rising] did not inform DeMarcus or any of the other people on the speakers list that David Davis would be there,” Colton said.
When DSA caught word that Davis would speak in Macon, organizers began promoting the No Kings rally in Warner Robins, releasing a joint statement with Navigating Omitted Minds Over Time. It was after this protest that DSA members arrived at Rosa Parks Square to counterprotest.
Keene declined questions related to the No Kings protest, opting to send a prepared official statement.
“We respect that different organizations may take different approaches, and we remain focused on hosting a peaceful, inclusive event centered on civic engagement and community connection,” the statement read.
Colton said DSA does not plan to work with Macon Rising in the foreseeable future, limiting contact between the organizations exclusively to email after a vote from their members.
“They’ve demonstrated that they’re not interested in being a good faith collaborator in the political scene of Macon,” Colton said. “This does not significantly affect our work going forward because we are far and away the largest activist organization in the area.”
She added that Macon Rising’s nonpartisan approach “has not adequately met the moment and the energy that is in Macon right now.”
Burnside, Colton and Beckham all agreed that Davis should have spoken in a setting with open dialogue from Macon-Bibb residents. Beckham called the rally speech “soap-boxing,” which does not encourage discussion or criticism from an audience.
Keene said Macon Rising is fully focused on midterms and emphasized that they will not endorse any candidates.
Colton said DSA will continue its focus on events outside of rallies, such as their scheduled meetings, workshops and aid initiatives.
With communication now limited and collaboration halted, the fallout from the No Kings protest signals a growing divide in Macon’s activist community—one that could shape how political organizing unfolds ahead of the 2026 midterms.
