Protesters gather in Central Florida, across US for 'No Kings' rallies

Protesting the direction of the country under President Donald Trump, thousands of people gathered Saturday in Orlando and many more rallied across the nation at “No Kings ” demonstrations, showcasing their dislike for what they call the president’s authoritarian policies.

Demonstrators protest during the 'No Kings' protest, Saturday, Oct. 18,...

Demonstrators protest during the ‘No Kings’ protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Orlando. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)

Sally Cawthern, 86, protests outside her home during the ‘No Kings’ protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Orlando. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)

Demonstrators protest during the ‘No Kings’ protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Orlando. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)

Demonstrators protest during the No Kings Protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Orlando Fla. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)

Demonstrators protest during the ‘No Kings’ protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Orlando. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)

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Demonstrators protest during the ‘No Kings’ protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Orlando. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)

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Some came in costumes and others waved signs — “Make Racism Wrong Again” and “Ikea had better cabinets,” were among them — as they filled the streets outside Orlando City Hall. They wanted to peacefully demonstrate their upset with what they view as Trump’s attacks on courts, immigrants and the Constitution.

Cindy McCurry and her sister, Melinda McCurry, came dressed as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, a way to counter Trump and the Republican Party’s argument that the rallies were “hate America” events.

“Winnie the Pooh and Tigger are kind characters. We chose them because we want to demonstrate that we are not what we are being depicted,” Cindy McCurry said. “I wanted the media to see that we have people here that are kind, civilized, respectful and we all love our country,” she added. “But we are fearful that our democracy is sliding away.”

Similar demonstrations took place in other Central Florida communities and in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale. Protesters also packed places like New York City’s Times Square, the historic Boston Common, and Chicago’s Grant Park as well as hundreds of smaller public spaces across the country.

This is the third mass mobilization since Trump’s return to the White House and comes against the backdrop of a government shutdown that has shuttered federal programs and services. Trump opponents argue his administration is testing the core balance of power as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways they view as a slide toward American authoritarianism.

People began assembling at Orlando City Hall an hour before the 10 a.m. kickoff. Most carried signs and some wore inflatable costumes, protesting dressed as pink ponies , for example, and Cartman from the TV show South Park.

A man in an inflatable tyrannosaurus rex costume waved a sign that said: “Freedom isn’t extinct. Kings are.”

Demonstrators protest during the ‘No Kings’ protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Orlando. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)

Orlando planners encouraged protesters to wear inflatables after federal agents in Portland, Oregon, pepper-sprayed an anti-ICE demonstrator dressed in a frog costume earlier this month.

When the Orlando protest ended, some participants headed over to Lake Eola Park where the annual Come out With Pride Orlando festival was kicking off. A small conga line of protesters marched around the perimeter of the park chanting “No kings!”

Jim Caldwell attended the rally and then stopped at the park. He said it was important to “uplift” an LGBTQ community that’s increasingly under attack.

The 69-year-old Orlando man wore a rainbow-striped Mickey Mouse pin on a T-shirt he modified for the occasion. It featured a gold crown and the words “Birthday King” in gold lettering. He used red tape to X out the “King” part.

“We don’t like what we see at all,” Caldwell said of the Trump administration.

Demonstrators protest during the ‘No Kings’ protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Orlando. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)

About 40 officers from the Orlando Police Department arrived on bicycles shortly before the earlier protest started. But demonstrators were peaceful.

By the time the protest started people were packed shoulder to shoulder outside City Hall, lining both sides of Orange Avenue and South Street. People in cars honked their horns while driving, with some waving signs out their windows or holding up their fists through sunroofs.

Rich Williams, 85, sat on the steps of City Hall with his partner, Pat Keign.

“I see my country turning upside down. The Constitution being ignored. Police action without cause,” Williams said.

Williams said he’s lived through the nation’s civil rights and Vietnam War protests, but this year’s “strife” seems different.

Demonstrators protest during the ‘No Kings’ protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Orlando. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)

“The government is repressing the people,” he said. “We haven’t seen anything like that since the troops were called out to fight the Union.”

Across the street from City Hall police had blocked off a section of sidewalk for counter protestors, but only a solitary Trump supporter showed up. She carried signs that said: “Americans voted, you lost” and “ICE are Family.”

Police kept a close eye on her as she shouted at the crowd. Some demonstrators argued with her, but the crowd eventually drowned her out by singing, “One is the loneliest number,” a lyric from the song “One,” made famous in the 1960s by Three Dog Night.

In Mount Dora, a few hundred people gathered at the intersection of U.S. Highway 441 and Donnelly Street for another “No kings” rally, Shawn Cunningham said. The protesters lined all four corners and were several people deep.

Demonstrators protest during the ‘No Kings’ protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Orlando. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)

She said participants ranged in age from teenagers to octogenarians. Many motorists honked their car horns as they passed by.

“It was very peaceful,” Cunningham said. “There was a police officer stationed nearby, but they never joined the crowd or had to disperse the crowd.”

At Lake Eola after the Orlando protest, a crowd of LGBTQ supporters, some wearing costumes they’d worn to the “No Kings” protest — “I’m a lemur!” one exclaimed — turned the park into an open-air festival of self expression with a touch of Halloween.

Dozens of vendors’ booths offered services and merchandise and two stages provided entertainment. A crowd greeted a drag performer at one stage with loud “oohs” and applause.

A woman wearing a frog costume head defended the two energetic gatherings from critics who branded them un-American.

“They couldn’t be more wrong,” she said. “We’re exercising our rights to peaceful protest and freedom of speech, which is increasingly at risk.”

Demonstrators protest during the ‘No Kings’ protest, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Orlando. (Phelan M. Ebenhack for the Orlando Sentinel)

Ben Belanger, 78, a transplanted Canadian and 20-year Orlando resident, walked through the park wearing rainbow sequin shorts while handing out rainbow flags, hats, sweatbands and wigs.

“I love this parade,” Belanger said. “I love the gay parade.”

The festival in the park started at noon with the Most Colorful Parade downtown scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

Juan Canasi, a tuba player and a founder of The Central Florida Sounds of Freedom Band & Guard fretted about how many of the band’s 85 members would participate in the parade.

The band was formed in 2011 to promote LGBTQIA+ awareness, acceptance and equality, he said, in a positive way.

But some members don’t like marching, some don’t like crowds, and some worry about rising hostilities toward their community, Canasi said.

That comes amid government actions to eliminate inclusion initiatives along with the state’s decision to paint over the rainbow crosswalk at the former Pulse nightclub, a gay bar where 49 people were were killed and 53 others were wounded by a gunman.

But Canasi, 58, and his partner Joe Kennedy, 54, a clarinetist in the band, said they needed to be present.

“I think it’s important to be visible, especially now, when so much is going on to threaten the gains we’ve made,” Canasi said.

Originally Published: October 18, 2025 at 4:02 PM EDT

Protesters gather in Central Florida, across US for ‘No Kings’ rallies

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