'No Kings' rallies taking place in U.S. to protest Trump's policies
by Allen Cone · UPIOct. 18 (UPI) -- Several million people participated Saturday in more than 2,500 "No Kings" rallies throughout the United States in what organizers billed as the largest single-day protest in modern history.
The protests in small and large cities by people of all ages were for a range of issues: immigration raids and deportations, government funding cuts and workers' terminations, health-care misinformation and the politicized of the Department of Justice. Aerial video, including by CNN, showed masses of people.
Some wore costumes and others were dressed in yellow, a symbol of unity and a reference to other nonviolent resistance movements, according to organizers.
Many rallies included politicians' speeches with others chanting and holding signs while marching on streets, some with their pets. Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levi told USA Today beforehand there was a "sense of collective effervescence that comes when you gather with a lot of people with a shared purpose."
The first "No Kings' events, in opposition to President Donald Trump, was on June 14, when there were more than 2,000 events drawing more than 5 million people. A military parade in Washington, D.C., also took place that day.
The events were run by a coalition of organizations that also include the American Civil Liberties Union.
"No thrones. No crowns. No Kings," states the "No Kings' website, which lists event locations. "Millions of us are rising again to show the world: America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people."
Britannica lists the largest single-day protest in the United States as occurring on April 22, 1970, drawing an estimated 20 million on the first Earth Day. Hands Across America drew 5 million to 7 million on May 25, 1986, with the first "No Kings" listed as third. The Women's March, one day after Trump first became president on Jan. 21, 2017, drew an estimated 4.6 million.
Protest scenes
In New York City, Times Square was packed like during New Year's Eve. The crowd filled several blocks of Lower Manhattan and moved to an end at Union Square. They waved signs against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and authoritarianism.
"It's resistance -- part of the resistance," one protester told CNN, wearing her inflatable pink unicorn costume.
A march outside Madison Square Garden featured a large banner reading "No Kings" and "People Over Billionaires."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York marched with labor unions and others.
"We had more than 100,000 people across all five boroughs peacefully exercising their first amendment rights and the NYPD made zero protest-related arrests," the New York Police Department posted on X.
In the nation's capital, an anticipated crowd, also of more than 100,000, turned out at the National Mall with speeches near the U.S. Capitol building.
Bill Nye, "The Science Guy," said: "We are here to tell our lawmakers that what's going on in our government is wrong. They must stop the abuses of this petulant president and his circle of sycophants." He has been pushing back on the Trump administration's cut to NASA funding.
Members of the group All in for Democracy were dressed in Revolutionary War-era clothing and wigs. "I want all of America to realize the Declaration of Independence is about no kings," D.C. resident Lee Ayres said.
In Chicago, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker made an entrance to Grant Park to chants of "JB! JB! JB!" Many carried Mexican flags and signs stating "Hands off our Democracy" and "ICE OUT!"
The governor has opposed National Guard troops in the city to support ICE and attempts to curb crime.
"Resistance means choosing solidarity over fear and means recognizing that an attack on free speech, on immigrants' rights, on due process is an attack on everyone's rights," Pritzer said. "It means understanding that we're either building a society based on human dignity or one based on domination."
Actor John Cusack, who lives in Chicago, said the city's message to the Trump administration is: "Go to hell!"
"No, you can't put troops on our streets. You can't create enough chaos to invoke the Insurrection Act so you can stay in power. We all know what your plan is," the actor said, addressing the president.
In Atlanta, the protest featured Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, a minister.
"In this moment, in which we are seeing a president and an administration arrogating to himself power that doesn't belong to him, our message is very clear," Warnock later told CNN in an interview. "This is not about the people in power, it's about the power in the people."
In Denver, demonstrators started marching from the State Capitol with rolling road closures, police department posted on X.
In Las Vegas, a portion of the city's Las Vegas Boulevard in downtown, known as the Strip, was closed, police posted on X.
In Los Angeles, where one-third of the total population of 13 millions is immigrants, more than 30 protests were scheduled.
In demonstrations, many held Mexican flags or ones that included both countries.
Maria Rivera Cummings, who said she was born in Los Angeles and is of Mexican descent, said "we support where we're from. We support our culture, and we also love our country."
In San Francisco, organizers were especially focused on immigration and the possible deployment of the National Guard there.
At Ocean Beach, demonstrators formed a human banner spelling "NO KINGS! YES ON 50." The banner referred to support for Proposition 50 to redraw congressional districts in the state.
Outside the United States, anti-Trump demonstrators gathered near the U.S. Consulate, incld Americans. It was called "No yrants" because Canada's head of state is King Charles.
Events also occurred in Europe, including outside the U.S. embassy in Berlin, Germany.
Nonviolence urged
Nonprofit organizer Indivisible Project said the protests will be "nonviolent action" with people trained in safety and de-escalation.
The Department of Homeland Security has warned law enforcement agencies across the country about the potential for certain events to become violent. According to an intelligence report obtained by CNN, police should look out for demonstrators "with a history of exploiting lawful protests to engage in violence" and attendees with who are perceived to have had paramilitary-like training.
Some state leaders are calling up additional law enforcement.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he's activated the National Guard to support police "to help keep Virginians safe."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, wrote on X on Thursday, that he "directed the Dept. of Public Safety and National Guard to surge forces into Austin" ahead of the rallies.
"Texas will NOT tolerate chaos. Anyone destroying property or committing acts of violence will be swiftly arrested," Abbott wrote.
"Hate America' rallies
Republican leaders describe the protests are a series of"Hate America" rallies.
"And I encourage you to watch -- we call it the 'Hate America Rally' that will happen Saturday," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Wednesday. "Let's see who shows up for that. I bet you see pro-Hamas supporters. I bet you see Antifa types. I bet you see the Marxists in full display, the people who don't want to stand and defend the foundational truths of this republic."
"The truth is -- what Democrats really want is something Republicans can't give them. And that is the approval of their far-left base," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday.
Organizers say the Republican stance will backfire.
"I think, if anything, it will increase turnout," Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer of the ACLU, told ABC News. "I think Americans can really see through these sad attempts to distract attention from the failure of these Republican Congress people and Republican Trump administration to actually address what most Americans want and need from their government."
Trump in Florida
Trump, who is spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., said in a Fox Business Network interview that aired Friday: "You know, they're saying. They're referring to me as a king. I'm not."
He has no public events scheduled Saturday and hadn't posted anything about the protests Saturday.
During Trump's 11th visit to his county of residence since he became president again, events are planned in Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach and Boca Raton.
A June rally was at the Meyer Amphitheater in downtown West Palm Beach.
In West Palm Beach, the crowd had swelled to more than 3,000 a few miles from Mar-a-Lago.
"This is what democracy looks like," U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, a former mayor of West Palm Beach, said. "Silence is deadly. I'm so proud of our community."
Protests amid shutdown
The events are coming on the 18th day of the U.S. government shutdown. Senators on Thursday failed for the 10th time to resolve the impasse in votes on Thursday.
"We'll be in the streets for immigrant families under attack and for voters who are being silenced," the Progressive Change Campaign Committee wrote in an email obtained by ABC News. "For communities being terrorized by militarized policing. For families who are about to lose their health insurance. And for every single person whose rights are threatened by this administration's cruelty."
'No Kings' protests come to New York, Illinois, Washington
Protesters gather in Times Square for the "No Kings" demonstration and march down Seventh Avenue in New York City on October 18th, 2025. Photo by Peter Foley/UPI | License Photo