Updated October 18, 2025 at 9:48 PM CDT
Demonstrators across the U.S. took to the streets on Saturday to protest the policies of President Trump.
The overriding theme of the marches was the accusation that the president is behaving more like a monarch than an elected official.
This is the second massive wave of protests organized by No Kings — a network of progressive organizations fighting against Trump's agenda. Organizers projected a turnout in the millions across some 2,600 events around the country.
In New York City's Times Square, protesters carried signs that read: "resist the fascists traitors" and "No crowns, No kings," spilled into the crowd of Broadway matinee show attendees, Gothamist reported.
The No Kings group said it had already achieved its goal in June and was ready to send the White House yet another statement.
"In June, we did what many claimed was impossible: peacefully mobilized millions of people to take to the streets and declare with one voice: America has No Kings," No Kings said on its website.
The overwhelmingly peaceful June protests were in response to a military parade held on the Army's 250th anniversary — which coincided with Trump's 79th birthday. Critics said Trump had pushed for the extravagant parade not to commemorate the armed forces, but as a display of his own vanity.
"Now, President Trump has doubled down," No Kings said on its website, citing immigration detentions carried out by often-masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the administration's aggressive slashing of federal education resources and environmental protections, gerrymandering and other concerns.
No Kings organizers estimated that more than 5 million people turned out for the June protests. They speculated that Saturday's event could be even bigger.
No Kings held one of its largest protests in Washington, D.C. No Kings events were not planned for the city during the June protests when the military parade was held.
Demonstrators filled Pennsylvania Avenue near the U.S. Capitol, many holding signs that read "No Kings, No Tyrants" and some even wearing costumes. There were also many people wearing yellow, a color organizers said is to show unity.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of (I-Vt.) addressed D.C. protesters in remarks slamming tech billionaires who he said have become richer and more powerful since Trump became president, calling out Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg "and the other multibillionaires who were sitting right behind Trump when he was inaugurated."
Uriah Kitchen of Delaware, who attended the protest with his son Elijah, told NPR "we made a pledge of allegiance when we were in school and this is what it's all about."
"This is why we're here, we're here to protect America," Kitchen said.
Trump, himself, was not at the White House during the protests but on a visit to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Lt. Patrick Loftus, a spokesperson for D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department, told NPR the department made no arrests during the protest.
In Chicago, a city Trump has repeatedly criticized over crime, Mayor Brandon Johnson spoke to a cheering crowd.
"Now listen, there are those in this country who have decided at the behest of the President to declare war on Chicago and American cities across this country!" the Democratic official said. "But we are here to stand firm, to stand committed that we will not bend, we will not bow, we will not cower, we will not submit to the authoritarianism that is coming down!"
The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow it to deploy National Guard troops in Illinois after lower courts blocked the deployment.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, slammed the demonstration as a "hate America rally," and other Republicans have derided the movement as anti-American.
"It's all the pro-Hamas wing and, you know, the antifa people," Johnson said last week on Fox News. "They're all coming out."
Lucia Wrobleswski from Afton, Minn., a city council member and former police officer pushed back on the rhetoric: "They keep saying that we who are anti-fascist or Democrats are terrorists and fascists and it's such a lie," she said while at a local rally.
Responding to NPR's questions about the protests, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said: "Who cares?"
Maria Floriano showed up to an event in San Pablo, Calif., wearing a hat and shirt decorated with butterflies. She compared immigration to butterflies, saying "migration is beautiful" and "an act of courage."
Floriano, noting the protest was held in a Bay Area community home to a large population of immigrants, said: "We want them to know that there are people fighting for them, that not everyone feels that they're not welcome here."
At a rally in Sarasota, Fla., Jim Rosinus, chairman of Lee County's Democratic Party, said that although party leadership was there to supply signs and refreshments, the event was nonpartisan.
"It's not a Democratic Party thing, and there are a lot of people here who are not Democrats," he said. "They're either NPAs or even Republicans; there are a lot of Republicans who are just fed up with where their party is going and what's happening and want to show it."
That sentiment was echoed at rallies in other cities, including Salt Lake City, where protester Adam Livingston, a 35-year-old Marine Corps veteran, wore fatigues and carried a Marine Corps flag.
"Veterans and even active duty service members need to realize that we're loyal to the Constitution and not to a faith, a political party, an ideology, or a man," he said.
Republican Govs. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Greg Abbott of Texas, in preparation for the day of protesters, mobilized their states' National Guards.
"The Governor has authorized state active duty for training to help ensure the Guard will be ready to respond if needed to help keep people safe," Youngkin spokesman Peter Finocchio wrote in a statement to VPM.
The Texas Newsroom reported that Abbott said in a statement about sending the Guards to Austin: "Violence and destruction will never be tolerated in Texas. Texas will deter criminal mischief and work with local law enforcement to arrest anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property."
Standing by a traffic light in Plano, Texas, Jenny Colombo held a rainbow-trimmed sign that said "The Emperor Has No Clothes."
"I feel President Trump is the epitome of that character," Colombo told member station KERA. "Everybody is just walking around him, everybody can see what's going on, and they're all just supporting him blindly."
As of Saturday evening, protests appeared to have been peaceful with no major incidents of violence reported.
New York City police said events there drew an estimated 100,000 people across all five boroughs and that it made no protest-related arrests.
Speaking to Connecticut Public, that state's lead No Kings organizer, Jim Chapdelaine, reiterated the coalition's commitment to peace and the importance of people showing up for what they believe in.
"There are powers that be that would prefer we all just stay at our houses and, I don't know, take up crochet," Chapdelaine said in a Tuesday interview. "It's really important to build community and solidarity and unity, [and] especially important to do that in a very peaceful way."
NPR's Joel Rose, KQED reporter Brian Krans, MPR's Dana Ferguson, KUER's Martha Harris and WGCU's Mike Braun contributed reporting.
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