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What to know about the anti-Trump No Kings protests
Rachel Leingang
Millions are expected to show out for protests on Saturday at more than 2,500 locations across America, from small towns to large cities, to speak against the Trump administration.
No Kings, the coalition behind a mass demonstration in June, is again calling people to the streets to send the simple message that Donald Trump is not a king, pushing back against what they see as increasing authoritarianism.
Several US cities now have a militarised presence on the ground, most against the will of local leaders. Trump has promised to crack down on dissent as part of an ongoing retribution campaign. Still, organisers say they expect to see one of the largest, if not the largest, single day of protest in US history.
What are the No Kings protests?
A coalition of left-leaning groups is again leading a day of mass demonstrations across the US to protest against the Trump administration. The coalition spearheaded a previous No Kings protest day in June, drawing millions to the streets to speak out against the president on the same day Trump held a military parade in Washington.
The protests are called No Kings to underscore that America does not have kinds of absolute rulers, a ding against Trump’s increasing authoritarianism.
“‘NO KINGS’ is more than just a slogan; it is the foundation our nation was built upon,” a website for the protests, nokings.org, says. “Born in the streets, shouted by millions, carried on posters and chants, it echoes from city blocks to rural town squares, uniting people across this country to fight dictatorship together.”
Where are they happening?
Organisers say there are more than 2,500 protests planned across the country, in the largest cities and in small towns, and in all 50 states. It is part of a distributed model where people protest in their own communities rather than travelling to large urban hubs to show that discontent with Trump exists in all corners of the US.
For the 18 October day of action, organisers have identified several anchor cities: Washington DC; San Francisco; San Diego; Atlanta; New York City; Houston, Texas; Honolulu; Boston; Kansas City, Missouri; Bozeman, Montana; Chicago and New Orleans.
The protests start at different times depending on location. The No Kings website has a map with details for each location.
Read more about who organised the protests, why organisers are asking protesters to wear yellow, what Trump has said about them and more in our Q&A here:
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Senator Bernie Sanders took the stage to address the Washington DC ‘No Kings’ rally. The Vermont senator was met with thunderous cheers upon his appearance.
He began by addressing house speaker Mike Johnson’s earlier comments, saying Johnson “called these rallies ‘Hate America events.’ Boy, does he have it wrong.” He added that millions across thousands of US cities showed up “not because they hate America, but because they love America.”
Sanders then gave various examples of Trump administration moves that he said put democracy at risk, including federal masked agents deployed to American cities, the president’s threats to arrest and imprison his perceived political enemies, and his lawsuits against media organizations.
“This moment is not just about one man’s greed, one man’s corruption, or one man’s contempt for the Constitution,” he said. “This is about a handful of the wealthiest people on earth, who in their insatiable greed, have hijacked our economy and our political system in order to enrich themselves at the expense of working families throughout this country.”
He then went on to denounce the billionaires who helped fund Trump’s campaign and attended his inauguration, calling out Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg by name.
Here are a few more photos from the Washington DC No Kings protest, expected to be among the largest of the more than 2,600 demonstrations across the country.
As the protests are happening across New York City today, the New York police department said it is spreading out across the city to monitor events.
“The NYPD will be out to make sure everyone can peacefully and safely exercise their first amendment right,” the department posted on social media. “As a reminder, there will be zero tolerance for any illegal activity or anyone who breaks the law.”
In Connecticut, Chris Murphy calls Donald Trump the 'most corrupt president in the history of America'
Connecticut senator Chris Murphy called Donald Trump the “most corrupt president in the history of America” at a No Kings rally in Washington DC.
The senator addressed the government shutdown, describing it as an “unplanned vacation” that Republicans have been on from the nation’s capital for five weeks, he said.
“Trump does think that he’s a king and he thinks he can act more corruptly when the government is shut down. But he cannot. He doesn’t have new powers, extra powers during the shutdown,” Murphy said.
He added: “The truth is that he is enacting a detailed step-by-step plan to try to destroy all of the things that protect our democracy: free speech, fair elections and independent press, the right to peacefully protest. But the truth is he has not won yet. The people still rule in this country.”
Thousands march in Washington DC, where Bernie Sanders will headline
Crowds are also gathering by the thousands in Washington DC, where the senator Bernie Sanders will headline today’s rally.
In northern Virginia, many protesters were seen walking on overpasses across roads heading into DC, and several hundred people gathered in the circle near Arlington national cemetery, near where Trump is considering building an arch across the bridge from the Lincoln Memorial, Reuters reported.
George Chidi
Raphael Warnock also decried masked Ice agents:
“Showing up in communities all across our country – imagine this – agents of the government flying in Blackhawk helicopters into Chicago, rappelling down an apartment building in the middle of an American city. Literally separating Black people from brown people. I’m a preacher, but I have to say this: what the hell is happening? And all of us have to be concerned.”
Warnock said he would stand firm on the shutdown of the federal government until the threat of skyrocketing premiums created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are abated. He railed against firings at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and political interference with healthcare.
“The CDC is not a hazard to our health. Robert F Kennedy is a hazard to the health of the American people and its doctors,” Warnock said.
Warnock described redistricting efforts by Republicans as gerrymandering, “by trying to squeeze your voices out of the democracy. There’s a world for that. It’s called fascism. ... And if they convince you that they have already won, then you lose your fight. But you must never lose your fight. You must never lose your courage. You must never give up your voice. Because your voice is your human dignity and your human dignity is connected to you.
“If this budget were an EKG, it would suggest that our elected representatives have a heart problem and are in need of moral surgery. ... I’m saying to you that when you show up on a Saturday morning like this, let me tell you what you’re doing, you are the moral surgeons in America who are trying to heal our country.”
In Georgia, Raphael Warnock lambastes Trump’s comments to military leaders
George Chidi
Describing the crowd at the Atlanta Civic Center as “moral surgeons” for our democracy, the senator Rev Raphael Warnock lambasted Trump’s comments to military leaders calling Democrats “the enemy within”:
“As the pastor of Doctor King’s church, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Dr King said we will have to repent in this generation, not only for the violent actions and vitriolic words of the bad people, but because of the appalling silence and indifference of the good people.
“I heard an American president stand up the other day and say to generals, in our military, that we’ve got to stand up, he said, against the enemy within. Listen to me. I don’t care what your politics are today. I mean that. If you are an American citizen, you should be deeply concerned. And I know you are. That’s why you’re gathered here today. We should all be deeply concerned about an American president who stood in front of our military and said that the real concern is the enemy within.”
At least 10,000 people at field of Atlanta Civic Center to march to capital
George Chidi
Crowds are still increasing, but at least 10,000 people have filled the field of the Atlanta Civic Center in preparation for a march to the Georgia capital. Permitting was a question up until a day before the march, but Atlanta’s mayor, Andre Dickens, gave his assent.
“I love all the American flags. You know why? Because we love America,” said Andrea Young, executive director of the Georgia ACLU as speakers began addressing the crowd. “We are here to say we love America too much to give it over to a wannabe king.
We are governed by laws, by a constitution, a Bill of Rights, and we are here to say no kings. We say no one is above the law. And no one is below the law.”
People are gathering in Times Square in New York City by the thousands for No Kings day as protests kick off on the east coast.
Bernie Sanders to headline Washington DC No Kings rally
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders will headline the Washington DC No Kings rally near the US Capitol building in what is anticipated to be the largest grassroots mobilization since Trump returned to office.
“I am looking forward to joining millions of Americans across the country at a ‘No Kings’ rally tomorrow. I’ll be speaking here in Washington, DC. I hope to see you there,” Sanders wrote on social media.
In an accompanying video, he added: “People fought and died throughout the history of this country to preserve our democracy. We’re not going to let Trump or anybody else take it away.”
