{"id":12003,"date":"2025-10-20T09:42:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T09:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/12003\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T09:42:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T09:42:27","slug":"st-petersburg-among-more-than-100-florida-cities-and-towns-that-staged-no-kings-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/12003\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Petersburg among more than 100 Florida cities and towns that staged ‘No Kings’ protests"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AAircraft mechanic Gregory Mann at the No Kings protest in St. Petersburg, Florida on Oct. 18, 2025. Credit: Mitch Perry \/ Florida Phoenix<\/a><\/p>\n

Floridians massed throughout the state Saturday for the second national No Kings day demonstrations against the increasingly authoritarian second Trump administration, marked as it is by aggressive immigration enforcement and prosecutions of the president\u2019s enemies.<\/p>\n

Events had been planned in nearly 100 Florida cities and towns, according to organizers.<\/p>\n

In Miami, an estimated 5,000 people clad in American flags, golden crowns, and frog and Sasquatch costumes flooded Bayfront Park to chant against Trump.<\/p>\n

The event, which saw\u00a0thousands of global demonstrations<\/a>, drew Miamians of every age. It was held in front of the Torch of Friendship, a 1960 monument built as a beacon to welcome immigrants.<\/p>\n

One disruption hit the Miami gathering when Barry Ramey and another member of the white nationalist group the Proud Boys briefly showed up to counter-protest. Ramey was one of the men sentenced for rioting at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. City police quickly formed an escort to safely lead them out, as angry anti-Trump protesters screamed Spanish expletives at them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Tallahassee, a lively crowd packed the lawn in front of the Old Capitol and both sides of Monroe Street, waving signs at passing cars; many of their drivers honked their horns in solidarity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A crowd estimated to be several thousand strong gathered along the four street corners in the Tyrone Square area of St. Petersburg. A Pinellas County teacher who wanted to be identified only by her first name of Marissa wore a cape of the American flag.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty worried that we\u2019re losing our democracy, and I think we\u2019re losing our way as Americans,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like the actions that the Trump administration is taking doesn\u2019t represent our country or what our founders had as a vision for our country. And so I\u2019m here today because of that. I love my country. I\u2019m wearing a flag today because I want us to take back flags. I know the Republicans have talked about how we hate America. No, I love my country, and I hate what you are doing to it, Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Approximately 2,000 gathered in Gainesville on the same day as University of Florida\u2019s homecoming football game. They listened to poems, songs, and calls to action. A Phoenix reporter noticed no counter-protesters or any police.<\/p>\n

In Sopchoppy, a small Wakulla County town 35 miles south of Tallahassee, a rally attracted around 30 people.The county is solidly Republican, with Trump winning nearly 72% of the vote in 2024. Gov. Ron DeSantis took 73% of the vote during his 2022 re-election bid.<\/p>\n

Despite a small crowd, there was a heavy county sheriff\u2019s presence \u2014 at least seven deputies to oversee the demonstrators and no more than 10 counterprotestors.<\/p>\n

The protests took place as the federal government shutdown is now in its third week. The dispute revolves around Democrats pushing Republicans to reinstate the enhanced premium tax subsidies for those on the Affordable Care Act scheduled to expire at the end of this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Marjorie Taylor Greene starts becoming progressive, we know the GOP has screwed up,\u201d said St. Petersburg resident Gregory Mann, referring to the Georgia Republican\u2019s\u00a0comments<\/a>\u00a0last week that she would go \u201cagainst everyone on this issue\u201d because the premium hikes would harm \u201cmy own adult children\u201d and her constituents in northwest Georgia.<\/p>\n

Hitler, Castro<\/p>\n

Back in Miami, complaints ranged from mild criticisms of Trump to outright comparisons to Adolf Hitler and Fidel Castro, the long-reigning Cuban dictator whose revolution forced an exodus of millions of Cubans over decades to leave the island nation.<\/p>\n

Many ended up in Miami. One is Jorge Cardelle, a 67-year-old Cuban-born U.S. veteran who served four years in the Navy and 16 in the Army.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here to protest how our government is being run. The abuses, the corruption \u2014 I was born in Cuba, and my parents left because of the corruption. What happened there is what\u2019s happening here,\u201d said Cardelle, wrapped in an American flag in front of a towering Ponce De Leon statue.<\/p>\n

Other protesters who spoke to the Phoenix included a University of Miami law professor dressed as a frog, a grocer adorned in that Sasquatch costume, a 25-year-old artist, two retired nurses, the president of the University of Miami\u2019s UDems, and a mayoral candidate running as a socialist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their beliefs ran along the same lines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s breaking my heart,\u201d said Caroline Mala Corbin, the 57-year-old constitutional law professor at the nearby University of Miami.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Hitler!\u201d said Karen, a 72-year-old retired nurse. A Cuban-born Gen Z artist named Gamal echoed this in a portrait he hastily made the night before. Titled \u201cIce King,\u201d it depicts a frozen Trump wearing a golden crown, with the Nazi SS symbol to his left.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to make sure that the ice kind of resembles the SS symbol from the Nazis because we think he has kind of the same movement, going with the way that it\u2019s going too far to the right,\u201d the 25-year-old said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Music played throughout from a booming speaker at the feet of the ever-burning Torch of Friendship, where many danced, sang, chanted, and even played guitar.<\/p>\n

\"AA man poses during the No Kings protest in Miami, Florida on Oct. 18, 2025. Credit: Liv Caputo \/ Florida Phoenix<\/p>\n

\u2018It feels like you\u2019re not alone\u2019<\/p>\n

One attendee in St. Pete was Pinellas Park resident Rachel Parker, a U.S. Army Veteran who says she\u2019s working without pay as a veterans services representative at the VA because of the shutdown. She was dismissive of Republican contentions that protesters are anti-American.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of these Republican leaders like [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune coming out and saying \u2018This is a protest of hate,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a protest of hate. We are just utilizing our First Amendment rights to talk about the things that we have no control over. If Congress wants to abdicate all of its responsibilities right now, then we\u2019re going to have to do it for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Pinellas County teacher who wanted to be identified only by her first name, Marissa, wore a cape of the American flag.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty worried that we\u2019re losing our democracy, and I think we\u2019re losing our way as Americans,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like the actions that the Trump administration is taking doesn\u2019t represent our country or what our founders had as a vision for our country. And so I\u2019m here today because of that. I love my country. I\u2019m wearing a flag today because I want us to take back flags. I know the Republicans have talked about how we hate America. No, I love my country, and I hate what you are doing to it, Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kay, a Jacksonville teacher who didn\u2019t want to disclose her last name, was delighted to be among so many fellow Floridians speaking out against the Trump agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like you\u2019re not alone,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause in the neighborhood that I live in, I feel like I\u2019m a minority. And I feel like I can\u2019t be openly against Trump and the administration. But being here makes me feel a lot more comfortable. And I feel like I have a community where there is still hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AAttendees gather to listen to music, poems, and other speakers during the No Kings event in Gainesville, Florida on Oct. 18, 2025. Credit: Jay Waagmeester \/ Florida Phoenix<\/p>\n

\u2018Very excited, peaceful crowd\u2019<\/p>\n

In Gainesville,\u00a0William Marquardt, a retired archaeologist, said he was reusing his sign from the first No Kings day protests. \u201cI hope it will be obsolete one day.\u201d But, he added, \u201cprobably not in my lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis turnout is going to be bigger today across the country. Not just Washington or Chicago, but every place, small towns. I think people are finally realizing, if you don\u2019t stand up and say something, you\u2019ve lost your chance,\u201d Marquardt told the Phoenix.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Signs at the event at Gainesville\u2019s Cora Roberson Park pointed out Trump\u2019s association with Jeffrey Epstein, condemned fascism, advocated for protecting democracy, and of course, displeasure with Trump and his administration.<\/p>\n

Various organizations used the event to provide outreach, such as the Alachua Democrats, the Sierra Club, Badass Feminists of Gainesville, and Gainesville Women for Democracy.<\/p>\n

No Kings in north Florida<\/p>\n

In Tallahassee, compared to the last No Kings rally in June, this one was \u201ctwice the size, said Ellen Davis, attending with a friend who identified herself as Sharon Z. (Police estimated<\/a>\u00a0the earlier turnout at 2,000 people \u2013 organizers claimed 5,000.)<\/p>\n

They sat in lawn chairs with an American flag, flying upside down to signal distress, upon which was written, \u201cThe Power of the People is > Than the People in Power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Susan Amore, wearing a vest identifying herself as an ACLU legal monitor, described the vibe as \u201ca very excited, peaceful crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMake Orwell and Atwell fiction again,\u201d one sign read. Overheard in passing: \u201cMy dog\u2019s an idiot. She\u2019s also smarter than Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

No obvious police presence was apparent.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, No Kings Sopchoppy event organizer Robert Seidler had reached out to the sheriff\u2019s office after some inflammatory comments were posted about it on a Facebook page. But there were no altercations throughout the three-hour event, which featured protest songs on the banjo, including \u201cThis Land is Your Land.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ASue Wallrich at the No Kings day rally in Sopchoppy, Florida in Wakulla County on Oct. 18, 2025. Credit: Christine Sexton \/ Florida Phoenix<\/p>\n

\u00a0Lt. Will Hudson of the Wakulla County Sheriff\u2019s Office confirmed Seidler\u2019s comments. \u201cAnd we actually took a proactive approach to it, as well. And just anything that\u2019s going to happen in Wakulla, the sheriff\u2019s office is going to make sure that the safety and security of the people at the event, that it\u2019s taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sue Wallrich told the Florida Phoenix, \u201cI know my neighbors. I\u2019ve lived here for a long time. We all agree behind closed doors. But then, the second, you know, you gotta flash something on Facebook and our algorithms blow up. I think it\u2019s really screwing us all over; like, we are more alike than we think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Counter-protester \u201cWolf\u201d wasn\u2019t aware of the flare-up on social media; he said he heard about the gathering at church and decided to attend. He grabbed his Make America Great Again hat before he left the house, he acknowledged, to \u201cattract some attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me it\u2019s dumb because we don\u2019t have kings. They are misguided people. They probably mean well. Most of them mean well, but they are misguided. I came here to say a couple of prayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liv Caputo, Mitch Perry, Jay Waagmeester, Michael Moline, and Christine Sexton contributed to this story.
<\/p>\n

Florida Phoenix<\/a> is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n

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This article appears in Oct. 16 \u2013 22, 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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