What We Know About the Latest ‘No Kings’ Protests
The nationwide protests are playing out as a federal government shutdown lingers and troops are being deployed in cities.
More than 2,600 protests against the Trump administration are scheduled to take place across the country on Saturday in a demonstration known as No Kings Day.
Organizers are attempting to build on the momentum from their previous event on June 14, when around 2,000 rallies were held in all 50 states and drew more than five million people. It was the same day a military parade was held in Washington for the Army’s 250th anniversary and on President Trump’s 79th birthday.
This time, the protests are taking place against the backdrop of a government shutdown, immigration raids and the deployment of federal troops in cities.
Organizers say that the tenor behind the protest movement feels more charged and that they expect an even larger number of participants. The number of people who have already signed up, which is not a requirement, is nearly double what it was in June, said Hunter Dunn, a spokesman for the coalition behind No Kings.
Here’s what we know about the protests.
What does ‘No Kings’ mean?
Organizers say the protests are about preserving the principles that America was founded on and about resisting what they believe to be an authoritarian regime, like that of King George III, who exerted his power over the colonies.
“We are uniting to demand that our representatives take a stand against Trump’s executive overreach to limit his power and to help us eventually remove the regime and restore democracy before it is too late,” Mr. Dunn said.
Who are the organizers?
More than 200 national organizations and thousands of local groups are part of the coalition behind No Kings, including the Service Employees International Union, the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Federation of Teachers.
The driving force behind the event, however, has also been prominent progressive coalitions like Indivisible, 50501 and MoveOn.
A core principle of the protests is nonviolence, and organizers are said to be trained in de-escalation. The coalition’s website offers training videos on how to organize peaceful protests.
Where are the protests taking place?
The marquee events are expected to be in all the major metropolitan areas, including New York, Chicago, Houston, Seattle and Philadelphia. Major crowds are expected to be outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C., and in Los Angeles.
But each state will also have gatherings in smaller cities.
In June, the largest crowd was believed to be in Boston, which had reports of up to one million people when a rally combined with the local Pride festival, according to Mr. Dunn.
Why are these protests different?
Since June, there has been wider recognition of the event, and its organizers said they believed that those aligned with their cause would be even more determined to get involved.
Those include residents in sanctuary cities like Chicago and Portland, which have experienced heightened tensions as armed federal agents carry out raids.
Celebrities such as Robert De Niro have also publicly championed the protests.
“We’ve had two and a half centuries of democracy since then, often challenging, sometimes messy, always essential,” Mr. De Niro said in a posted video. “And we fought in two world wars to preserve it.”
“Now we have a would-be king who wants to take it away: King Donald the First,” he added, throwing in an expletive. “We’re rising up again this time, nonviolently raising our voices to declare: No kings.”
What has been the Republican reaction?
"Republican leaders have denounced the demonstration, referring to it as the “hate America rally” and saying without evidence that protesters have been paid to show up. They have also partially blamed it for prolonging the government shutdown.
“It’s all the pro-Hamas wing and, you know, the antifa people. They’re all coming out,” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said last week on Fox News. “Some of the House Democrats are selling T-shirts for the event. And it’s being told to us that they won’t be able to reopen the government until after that rally because they can’t face their rabid base.”
A few days later, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, while appearing on Fox Business, said, “You know, ‘no kings’ means no paychecks. No paychecks and no government.”
Corina Knoll is a Times correspondent focusing on feature stories."
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