| No Kings protests | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Protests against the second Trump administration and the 50501 Protests | |||
| Date | October 18, 2025 | ||
| Location | United States | ||
| Caused by | Opposition to Donald Trump | ||
| Methods | Nonviolent protest | ||
| Parties | |||
| Casualties | |||
| Injuries | 3 [a] | ||
| Arrested | 36+ [b] | ||
The No Kings protests of October 18, 2025, were part of a series of demonstrations taking place largely in the United States against Donald Trump's policies and actions during his second presidency. The demonstrations, which followed the No Kings protests of June 2025, took place in some 2,700 locations across the country, including the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and New York City. Organizers estimated that the protests drew nearly 7 million attendees, [12] while a partnership between data journalist G. Elliott Morris and The Xylom, an independent Atlanta-based science newsroom, estimated 5 million to 6.5 million participants. [13] Both estimates would make it the largest single-day protest in American history.[ disputed – discuss ]
The October 18, 2025, protests followed the No Kings protests in June, the Free America Weekend on July 4, and the Good Trouble Lives On protest on July 17. About 200 organizations worked together to organize the October protests, including 50501 and Indivisible groups, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Democratic Socialists of America, the American Federation of Teachers, Common Defense, the Human Rights Campaign, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), the League of Conservation Voters, MoveOn, Public Citizen, United We Dream, and Working Families Power. [14] [15] Other organizers included Third Act Movement, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Social Security Works, Communications Workers of America, Freedom From Religion Foundation, New York Civil Liberties Union, League of Women Voters and American Federation of Government Employees. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]
Outside the United States, protests were organized by Democrats Abroad. Various groups organized protests in the UK, including the Stop Trump Coalition. [23]
Organizers were "adamant that the rallies remain peaceful", [24] according to USA Today , and held virtual safety trainings ahead of the protests with help from the ACLU. [25]
While most activities took place in the United States, some events were planned in Western Europe and Canada. [26] [27] Large groups of people gathered in Barcelona, Madrid, London, [28] Berlin, Dublin, Paris, and other cities. Organizers asked participants to wear yellow attire. [29] [30]
About 12 events were planned in Alabama. In Birmingham, 5,000 people gathered in Railroad Park, with speakers including former Senator Doug Jones. [31] Demonstrations were also seen in Athens, Dadeville, Dothan, Fairhope, Huntsville, Guntersville, Mobile, Oxford, Phenix City, and Tuscaloosa. [32]
More than two dozen protests occurred in Alaska. [33] 2,000 people gathered in Town Square Park in Anchorage, with speakers including Alaska State Senator Löki Tobin and 2026 Gubernatorial candidate Tom Begich. [34] 2,000 people also protested in Fairbanks, [35] and 1,500 in Juneau. [36] Protests also occured in Dillingham, Girdwood, Gustavus, Haines, Healy, Homer, Kenai, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Kotzebue, Nome, Seward, Sitka, Soldotna, Talkeetna, Valdez, and Wasilla. [33]
In Arizona, about two dozen demonstrations were planned in the Phoenix metropolitan area, including in Anthem, Buckeye, Fountain Hills, Maricopa, San Tan Valley, and Sun City. [37]
Fifteen protests were planned in Arkansas, including in Batesville, Bentonville, Eureka Springs, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Harrison, Heber Springs, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Monticello, Mountain Home, Rogers, and Russellville. [38] [39] Over 10,000 people participated in the Little Rock protest. [40]
Southern California
Events took place in Burbank, [41] Los Angeles, [42] Santa Barbara, [43] San Luis Obispo, [44] and San Diego. [45] Over 80,000 people participated in protests across San Diego County, Further events were planned in Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Inglewood, Orange County, Santa Monica, and Pasadena. [46] [47]
Twelve adults and two juveniles were taken into custody after a protest in Los Angeles, although it is unclear what the charges were. [48]
Northern California
About 160,000 protesters participated in Bay Area No Kings protests, including over 100,000 in San Francisco, 20,000 in Oakland, 10,000–15,000 in San Jose, 8,000–12,000 in Walnut Creek, 4,000 in San Mateo, 1,000 in Berkeley, and 500 in Colma. [49] 15,000 people participated in a protest in Santa Cruz, while 3,000 did in nearby Watsonville. [50] Protests were also planned in Alameda, Albany, Antioch, Benicia, El Sobrante, Fremont, Hayward, Hercules, Milpitas, Mountain View, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Redwood City, Sonoma, Sausalito, Sunnyvale, and Union City. [51]
There were about 60 protests planned across Colorado, [52] including outside the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. [53] 13 people were arrested following Denver's protest, with police using smoke to disperse protesters. [54] Thousands of Coloradans participated in No Kings demonstrations. [55]
12,000 people gathered outside the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford, with speakers including U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz, and Mayor Arunan Arulampalam. [56] About 40 other protests were planned in cities around Connecticut, including Bethel, Bridgeport, Brookfield, Canton, Cornwall, Enfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Granby, Greenwich, Guilford, Kent, Killingly, Litchfield, Middletown, Milford, Morris, Mystic, New Haven, New London, New Milford, Newtown, Norwich, Ridgefield, Roxbury, Salisbury, Somers, Southbury, Stamford, Tolland, Torrington, Waterbury, Westport, Willimantic, Windham, and Windsor. [57]
Protests in Delaware took place in Dover, Georgetown, Newark, and Wilmington. [58]
About 80 [59] [60] events were planned in Florida. [61] Over 5,000 people protested in Miami's Bayfront Park, who were met by counterprotests by two members of the Proud Boys, one of whom, Barry Ramey, had participated in the January 6 Capitol riot. [62] Seven demonstrations were planned in Jacksonville; in Beaches, Downtown Jacksonville, Mandarin, Orange Park, and Ponte Vedra. [63] Protests also took place in Clermont, Leesburg, and Mount Dora. [64]
In Central Florida, activities were planned in Casselberry, Lake Mary, Leesburg, Mount Dora, Orlando, and Poinciana. [65]
More than 30 events were planned in Georgia, [66] including in Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Brunswick, Carrollton, Cartersville, Columbus, Dalton, Fayetteville, Gainesville, Greensboro, Griffin, Hiram, Marietta, Newnan, Rincon, Savannah, Smyrna, Statesboro, Suwanee, Waycross, and Woodstock. [67] [68]
In Hawaii the protests were called the "No Dictators" movement instead of "No Kings" out of respect for Hawaii's Aliʻi. [69] Events were planned on the islands of Oʻahu, Maui, Molokaʻi, Kauaʻi, and Hawaiʻi. [70]
In Idaho, the group Idaho 50501 organized a large protest in Boise at the Idaho Capitol building and in Cecil D. Andrus Park, with over 10,000 people in attendance. [71] The protest lasted a little over an hour with a large march around downtown Boise afterwards. [72] [73] [74] Southeast Idaho Citizens for Democracy organized an event in Pocatello. [75] Over 2,000 people marched from Caldwell Park to the Bannock County Courthouse. [76] Around 1,200 people participated in the protest in Idaho Falls. [77]
In Chicago, as many as 250,000 people took part in a demonstration in Grant Park, which included Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson as speakers. [78] [79] Other rallies were held in Arlington Heights, Elgin, Geneva, Lisle, Mount Prospect, and Schaumburg. [80]
Three men were arrested wearing tactical vests, and carrying replica guns with no orange tips and ammunition cards while traveling to multiple different protests. Fake flash bangs and lighter fluid were also recovered from their vehicle after their arrests. [81]
Some 44 events were planned across Indiana, [82] including in Albion, Anderson, Angola, Auburn, Bedford, Bloomington, Brookville, Columbus, Corydon, Crown Point, Decatur, Delphi, Elkhart, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Frankfort, Greencastle, Indianapolis, Kokomo, LaGrange, La Porte, Lebanon, Liberty, Logansport, Madison, Marion, Muncie, Nashville, New Albany, Plainfield, Richmond, South Bend, Terre Haute, Valparaiso, [83] Vincennes, Warsaw, and West Lafayette. [84]
In Iowa, over 12,000 people protested outside the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. [85]
In Kansas, 6,300 people protested outside the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka. [86] Protests also took place in Hutchinson, [87] Independence, Kansas City, Parsons, Pittsburg, Salina, [88] and Wichita.[ citation needed ]
Two dozen protests were planned in Kentucky, including Bowling Green, Frankfort, Lexington, and Louisville. [89] [90]
In Louisiana, events were planned in Alexandria, Lafayette, Lake Charles, New Orleans, and Shreveport-Bossier. [91]
More than 60 events were planned in Maryland, including in Annapolis, Baltimore, Columbia, Frederick, Hagerstown, Salisbury, and Silver Spring. [93] [94] [95] [96] Demonstrations were also held at the National Institutes of Health's headquarters in Bethesda, which was attended by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen. [97]
In Massachusetts, events were planned in Fall River and Swansea. [98]
In Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu attended a demonstration in Boston Common; [99] [100] [101] other speakers included senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, and representatives Katherine Clark, Ayanna Pressley, and Seth Moulton. [102] Organizers estimated an attendance of 100,000 [103] or 125,000 [104] people. There were no arrests. [105]
In Michigan, demonstrations were planned in Lansing, Detroit, Dearborn, Grand Rapids, Sterling Heights, Troy, [106] Bay City, Kalamazoo, [107] Manistee, [108] Midland, [109] Livonia, Taylor, Wyandotte, Hazel Park, Ferndale, Farmington Hills, Lathrup Village, Oak Park, Novi, Walled Lake, South Lyon, Waterford, Lake Orion, Rochester Hills, Rochester, Macomb, Romeo, Ann Arbor, Saline, Milan, Chelsea, Ypsilanti, Whitmore Lake, Monroe, and Howell. [110]
In Minnesota, events were attended in multiple cities including Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Bemidji, St. Louis Park, Owatonna, St. Cloud, Duluth, Park Rapids, Anoka, Marshall, Cook, Waconia, Willmar, Cloquet, Mankato and Eagan. [111] [112] [113] [114] [115] [116] [117] [118]
In Mississippi, events were planned in Gulfport, Hernando, Jackson, Oxford, Starkville, and Tupelo. [119] [120]
About a dozen demonstrations were planned in Missouri. [121] [122] [123] In Columbia, hundreds gathered in Boone County Courthouse Square, filling it "to capacity". [124] A "few thousand" attended the protest in St. Louis. [125] Hundreds gathered in the state capital of Jefferson City. [126] Hundreds gathered in Branson, Missouri, protesting on Highway 76 and Doctor Good Dr., directly across from a Trump merchandiser. [127]
Thirty-one protests were planned in Montana, [128] including Missoula (10,000 people) [129] , Bozeman (4,000), [130] Billings (3,000), [131] Dillon, Hamilton, and Polebridge. [132]
About 16 protests were planned in Nebraska. [133] Blue Valley Indivisible planned an event at Charles Park in Beatrice. [134]
Event organizers estimated that more than 18,000 attended the demonstration in Reno, one of the 14 events scheduled throughout Nevada. Other locations included Las Vegas, Henderson, Carson City, Elko, Pahrump, Hawthorne, Mesquite, and Bullhead. [135]
About 30 events were planned in New Hampshire. [136] In Concord "thousands" came out. [137]
About 50 protests were planned in New Jersey, [138] including fifteen in Central New Jersey. [139] Thousands of New Jersey residents participated in protests. [140] Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin spoke at the event in Montclair. [141]
In New Mexico, demonstrations occurred in Albuquerque, [142] [143] Alamogordo, [144] Capitan, Carlsbad, Chama, Deming, Embudo, Española, Farmington, Gallup, Grants, Kingston, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Los Alamos, Portales, Raton, Roswell, Ruidoso, Santa Fe, [145] Silver City, Socorro, Taos, Tijeras, Truth or Consequences, and Valencia County. [146] [147] [148] [149] [150]
Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) was slated to appear at events. [151] According to the New York City Police Department, a hundred thousand people marched from Times Square in New York City. [152] [153] [154] . Overall, 350,000 people participated in protests in the city. [155]
More protests took place in over 100 locations including Albany, [156] Brighton, [157] Buffalo, [158] DeWitt, [159] Fairport, [157] Ithaca, [160] Huntington, [161] and Rochester. [157]
Protests in North Carolina took place in Asheville, Black Mountain, Boone, Brevard, Bryson City, Burnsville, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Clay County, Columbus, Durham, Fayetteville, [162] Elkin, Forest City, Greensboro, Greenville, Hendersonville, Highlands, [163] Jacksonville, [164] Leland, [165] Lenoir, Marion, Morganton, Mount Airy, New Bern, [166] Raleigh, Shallotte, [165] Stokes County, Surf City, [165] Sylva, Wilmington, [165] and Winston-Salem. [167]
Protests in North Dakota included Bismarck, Bottineau, Devils Lake, Dickinson, Fargo, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Medora, Minot, and Williston. [168]
In Ohio, dozens of events were planned throughout the state, [169] including Akron, Ashland, [170] Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo, and Wooster. [171] [172]
5,000 people protested in Courthouse Square in Dayton. [173] In Jackson Township near Canton, a motorist rammed a truck into a protester. [174]
Over a dozen protests were planned across Oklahoma. [175] [176]
About 70 events were planned in 65 cities in Oregon, [177] [178] including Bend, Pendleton, Prineville, Roseburg, and Salem. [179] Multiple events were planned in Portland. [180] One local group affiliated with the 50501 movement organized an event at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. [181] Local organizers discouraged activity at the ICE facility in south Portland. [182]
A protest in Eugene was planned outside the Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse. [183] A demonstration was also planned in West Linn. [184]
About 40,000 people attended the protest at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. [185] 5,000 participated in Medford, and 2,000 in Grants Pass. [186]
In Pennsylvania, protests were planned in Erie [187] and Pittsburgh. [188] On October 17, protests were held in the Philadelphia area. [189] Police estimate that more than 15,000 people were at the protest in Philadelphia. [190]
Ten events were planned in Rhode Island. [191]
In South Carolina, events were planned in Beaufort, Bluffton, Charleston, Cheraw, Columbia, Greenville, Hilton Head, Florence, Fort Mill, Indian Land, Myrtle Beach, North Charleston, Rock Hill, Seneca, Spartanburg, and Summerville. [192]
Protests in South Dakota included Aberdeen, Brookings, Huron, Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Spearfish, Sturgis, Vermillion, and Watertown. [193]
Dozens of protests were planned in Tennessee. [194] The Nashville protest was at Capitol Hill. [195]
Several demonstrations were planned in North Texas, including in Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Flower Mound, Greenville, Jacksboro, McKinney, and Sherman. [196] Indivisible Centex was organizing a demonstration at the Bell County Courthouse in Belton. [197] Protests were also planned in San Antonio [198] and Austin. [199]
Governor Greg Abbott deployed the National Guard, the Texas Ranger Division, state troopers, and the Texas Department of Public Safety to Austin ahead of the rally, with the support of "aircraft and other tactical assets". He said in a statement that "violence and destruction will never be tolerated in Texas" and that he had directed "all necessary law enforcement officials and resources to ensure the safety of Austin residents". Texas House of Representatives Minority Leader Gene Wu denounced the use of armed soldiers to suppress peaceful protests as the act of kings, dictators, and their helpers like Abbott. [200]
In Utah, demonstrations took place in Salt Lake City, [201] Boulder, Cedar City, Ephraim, Fillmore, Heber City, [202] Logan, [203] Moab, [204] Ogden, Park City, Price, Provo, [205] and St. George. [206] In Salt Lake City, an estimated 15,000 people gathered in front of the Utah State Capitol. [207] [208] The protests were the first in the city since the June 2025 killing of Afa Ah Loo during the earlier No Kings protest. [209]
Multiple rallies were held in Vermont, including in Barre, Brattleboro, Burlington, Chester, and Montpelier. Speakers at the rallies includes U.S. Senator Peter Welch and U.S. Congresswoman Becca Balint. [210]
In Virginia, protests were planned in Arlington, [211] Abingdon, Chesapeake, Galax, Gate City, and Norfolk. [212] [213] Gov. Glenn Youngkin mobilized the Virginia National Guard in advance. [214]
In Washington, [215] events were planned in Everett, Gig Harbor, Lakewood, Olympia, [216] Point Defiance in Tacoma, Puyallup, [217] and Kennewick and Bellingham [218] Additional protests in King County, the most populous county in the state, were planned for the cities Federal Way, Auburn, Enumclaw, Maple Valley, Milton, Covington, Des Moines, Mercer Island, Bothell Shoreline Lake Forest Park Edmonds, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah, Tukwila and Renton on the Eastside, and the census-designated place Vashon. [219] Rallies were planned to be held in at least six locations in Seattle. [220] Thousands of people participated in Spokane. [221] [222]
In Washington, D.C., multiple protests were planned. [223] On the National Mall, speakers included Mehdi Hasan, Chris Murphy, Bill Nye, and Bernie Sanders. [224] [225] Organizers for the D.C. event estimated the attendance at 200,000. [226]
More than 200 people demonstrated in Charleston. [227]
Protests took place in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. [231]
On October 15, Trump predicted that few people would show up for the protests. On October 17, Trump told Fox News, "They say they're referring to me as a king. I'm not a king." That same day, a Trump campaign social media account posted an AI video showing Trump dressed as a monarch, wearing a crown and waving from a balcony. [232]
On the night of the protests, Trump released a video generated with artificial intelligence showing himself wearing a crown in a fighter jet marked "King Trump", dropping brown liquid resembling feces on the protesters. [233] [234] The video included the Kenny Loggins song "Danger Zone" from the 1986 movie Top Gun; Loggins asked Trump to remove his song from the video and told a reporter, "I can't imagine why anybody would want their music used or associated with something created with the sole purpose of dividing us." [235]
On October 15, the Trump administration said it would take anti-terrorist measures during the protests such as mobilizing the FBI. [236]
In the days leading up to the protests, various administration officials denigrated protestors in various ways. On October 16, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said to Fox News that participants and the Democratic Party's main constituents were "made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals". [237]
Several administration officials said that protestors were members of Antifa, which Trump had labeled a "domestic terrorist organization" in a September executive order, [238] on par with ISIS. [c] On October 13, United States Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said protestors are "part of Antifa". [240] Attorney General Bondi attributed "people out there with thousands of signs that all match, pre-bought, pre-put together" [241] to Antifa's high degree of organization, [242] and pledged to "get to the root of Antifa" and "find and charge all of those people who are causing this chaos". [241]
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson also linked the protests to Antifa, saying "It's all the pro-Hamas wing and the Antifa people, they're all coming out," and that the group organizing the protest in Washington, D.C., is anti-American, [243] [244] while House majority whip Tom Emmer said that the "terrorist wing" of the Democratic party was set to hold them. [245] They and House majority leader Steve Scalise [244] called the protests a "Hate America" rally. [241] Johnson also attacked the participants with: "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." [246]
Duffy and Senators Roger Marshall and Ted Cruz accused No Kings of using paid protesters. [240] [239] [247] According to The Independent, Marshall baselessly laid the blame on George Soros, saying, "We'll have to get the National Guard out. Hopefully it will be peaceful. I doubt it." [239] Cruz also blamed Soros and urged to "cut off the money" behind "these rallies that may well turn into riots". [247] He spoke of legislation he had introduced that would allow use of the RICO Act to prosecute the money he alleged was behind No Kings for "supporting rioting and violence", and said he had urged attorney general Pam Bondi and FBI director Kash Patel to prosecute. [247]
Fox News ran multiple stories about the protests. One report claimed that organizers aiming to destroy Israel had joined the protests in New York under the groupings of "UAW Labor for Palestine" and "NYC Labor for Palestine". Another news story claimed that George Soros had funded the protests through an about $3 million grant to Indivisible. [232]
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