![\"Rachel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Rachel_Leingang.png\")
Rachel Leingang<\/p>\nWhat to know about the anti-Trump No Kings protestsRachel Leingang<\/p>\n
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<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n What are the No Kings protests?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The protests are called No Kings to underscore that America does not have kinds of absolute rulers, a ding against Trump\u2019s increasing authoritarianism.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018NO KINGS\u2019 is more than just a slogan; it is the foundation our nation was built upon,\u201d a website for the protests, nokings.org<\/a>, says. \u201cBorn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Where are they happening?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The protests start at different times depending on location. The No Kings website has a map with details for each location.<\/p>\n Read more about who organised the protests<\/a>, why organisers are asking protesters to wear yellow, what Trump has said about them and more in our Q&A here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.24 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n The No Kings protest kicked off in Chicago, IL at Grant Park\u2019s Butler Field at noon. There are at least 10,000 people as the speeches begin. An intergenerational group of protestors have gathered, most with signs that are opposing ICE\u2019s presence in Chicago or mocking President Trump.<\/p>\n Many flags, signs, and t-shirts, read, \u201cFUCK ICE,\u201d others that read \u201cHands Off Chicago,\u201d a rallying cry that began when President Trump first announced his intent to send the National Guard into the city. Other signs read, \u201cResist Fascism,\u201d and \u201cHands off our Constitution\u201d<\/p>\n Mayor Brandon Johnson spoke to the crowd, which erupted in cheers when he took to the stage.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have decided that they want a rematch of the civil war,\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are here to stand firm and stand committed that we will not bend, we will not bow, we will not cower, we will not submit,\u201d said Mayor Johnson. \u201cWe do not want troops in our city.\u201d<\/p>\n The crowd erupted in chants of \u201cFuck Donald Trump\u201d while Illinois Congressman Jonathan Jackson spoke to the crowd. Later as ACLU Illinois communications director, Ed Yohnka (ck sp), the crowd chanted, \u201cUSA! USA! USA!\u201d<\/p>\n Senator Dick Durbin, Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, Congressman Chuy Garcia, Cook County Toni Preckwinkle, as well as local aldermen and state representatives were in attendance.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>In Washington DC, Bernie Sanders says: ‘This moment is not just about one man\u2019s greed, corruption or contempt for the constitution’<\/p>\n The 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.<\/p>\n He began by addressing the House speaker Mike Johnson\u2019s earlier comments, saying Johnson \u201ccalled these rallies \u2018Hate America events\u2019. Boy, does he have it wrong.\u201d He added that millions across thousands of US cities showed up \u201cnot because they hate America, but because they love America\u201d.<\/p>\n Sanders then gave various examples of Trump administration<\/a> moves that he said put democracy at risk, including federal masked agents deployed to American cities, the president\u2019s threats to arrest and imprison his perceived political enemies, and his lawsuits against media organizations.<\/p>\n \u201cThis moment is not just about one man\u2019s greed, one man\u2019s corruption, or one man\u2019s contempt for the constitution,\u201d he said. \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n He went on to denounce the billionaires who helped fund Trump\u2019s campaign and attended his inauguration, calling out Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg by name.<\/p>\n Bernie Sanders at the No Kings protest in Washington DC on Saturday. Photograph: Kylie Cooper\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.33 EDT<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n People gather in Washington DC on Saturday. Photograph: Kirstin Garriss\/The GuardianThe Washington DC protest. Photograph: Kirstin Garriss\/The GuardianProtesters in Washington DC. Photograph: Kirstin Garriss\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.27 EDT<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe NYPD will be out to make sure everyone can peacefully and safely exercise their first amendment right,\u201d the department posted on social media<\/a>. \u201cAs a reminder, there will be zero tolerance for any illegal activity or anyone who breaks the law.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.26 EDT<\/p>\n In Connecticut, Chris Murphy calls Donald Trump the ‘most corrupt president in the history of America’<\/p>\n Connecticut senator Chris Murphy called Donald Trump the \u201cmost corrupt president in the history of America\u201d at a No Kings rally in Washington DC.<\/p>\n The senator addressed the government shutdown, describing it as an \u201cunplanned vacation\u201d that Republicans have been on from the nation\u2019s capital for five weeks, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cTrump does think that he\u2019s a king and he thinks he can act more corruptly when the government is shut down. But he cannot. He doesn\u2019t have new powers, extra powers during the shutdown,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.29 EDT<\/p>\n Thousands march in Washington DC, where Bernie Sanders will headline<\/p>\n Crowds are also gathering by the thousands in Washington DC, where the senator Bernie Sanders will headline today\u2019s rally.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Protesters in Washington DC on Saturday. Photograph: Tom Hudson\/Zuma Press Wire\/ShutterstockProtesters in DC. Photograph: Tom Hudson\/Zuma Press Wire\/ShutterstockProtesters in DC. Photograph: Tom Hudson\/Zuma Press Wire\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.21 EDT<\/p>\n Raphael Warnock also decried masked Ice agents:<\/p>\n \u201cShowing up in communities all across our country \u2013 imagine this \u2013 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\u2019m a preacher, but I have to say this: what the hell is happening? And all of us have to be concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe CDC is not a hazard to our health. Robert F Kennedy is a hazard to the health of the American people and its doctors,\u201d Warnock said.<\/p>\n Warnock described redistricting efforts by Republicans as gerrymandering, \u201cby trying to squeeze your voices out of the democracy. There\u2019s a world for that. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this budget were an EKG, it would suggest that our elected representatives have a heart problem and are in need of moral surgery. … I\u2019m saying to you that when you show up on a Saturday morning like this, let me tell you what you\u2019re doing, you are the moral surgeons in America who are trying to heal our country.\u201d<\/p>\n Protestors at the Atlanta Civic Center today. Photograph: George Chidi\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.25 EDT<\/p>\n In Georgia, Raphael Warnock lambastes Trump\u2019s comments to military leaders Describing the crowd at the Atlanta Civic Center as \u201cmoral surgeons\u201d for our democracy, the senator Rev Raphael Warnock lambasted Trump\u2019s comments to military leaders calling Democrats \u201cthe enemy within\u201d:<\/p>\n \u201cAs the pastor of Doctor King\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard an American president stand up the other day and say to generals, in our military, that we\u2019ve got to stand up, he said, against the enemy within. Listen to me. I don\u2019t 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\u2019s why you\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The US senator Raphael Warnock during a No Kings protest against Donald Trump\u2019s policies, in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, Photograph: George Chidi\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.30 EDT<\/p>\n At least 10,000 people at field of Atlanta Civic Center to march to capital 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\u2019s mayor, Andre Dickens, gave his assent.<\/p>\n \u201cI love all the American flags. You know why? Because we love America,\u201d said Andrea Young, executive director of the Georgia ACLU as speakers began addressing the crowd. \u201cWe are here to say we love America too much to give it over to a wannabe king.<\/p>\n 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Crowds gather in Atlanta for the No Kings protests. Photograph: George Chidi\/The GuardianCrowds gather in Atlanta for the No Kings protests. Photograph: George Chidi\/The GuardianAndrea Young speaking at the No Kings protest in Atlanta. Photograph: George Chidi\/The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a012.27 EDT<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n People gather at Times Square during the No Kings national day of protest, in New York City on 18 October 2025. Photograph: Timothy A Clary\/AFP\/Getty ImagesTimes Square. Photograph: Timothy A Clary\/AFP\/Getty ImagesTimes Square. Photograph: Timothy A Clary\/AFP\/Getty ImagesTimes Square. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a011.35 EDT<\/p>\n Bernie Sanders to headline Washington DC No Kings rally<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI am looking forward to joining millions of Americans across the country at a \u2018No Kings\u2019 rally tomorrow. I\u2019ll be speaking here in Washington, DC. I hope to see you there,\u201d Sanders wrote on social media.<\/p>\n In an accompanying video, he added: \u201cPeople fought and died throughout the history of this country to preserve our democracy. We\u2019re not going to let Trump or anybody else take it away.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"George](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/George-Chidi.jpg\")
George Chidi<\/p>\nGeorge Chidi<\/p>\nGeorge Chidi<\/p>\n