A “No Kings” protest in Philadelphia on Saturday, Oct. 17, is expected to draw a flood of yellow-shirt-wearing anti-Trump protesters, shutting down roads, shifting SEPTA bus routes, and forcing parking restrictions as thousands of rallies and marches take place this weekend.
Organized by progressive activist groups including Indivisible and 50501, over 2,500 protests are planned nationwide, intent with drawing a “historic” number of people onto streets in major cities like New York City and Philly, and across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Protesters are angered at the Trump administration amid a bitter impasse on Capitol Hill where a government shutdown has lasted 17 days, with another Senate vote stalled until Monday, Oct. 20.
Protesters will flood Philly streets wearing yellow this weekend, pushing back against what organizers call Trump’s “authoritarian actions and power grabs.” Their anger against the Trump administration, has been fueled by recent actions that have chipped away at American democracy, according to organizers, such as immigration crackdowns and sending of troops to Democratic-controlled cities amid massive changes to American health care and the destruction of First Amendment rights.
Here’s all you need to know about “No Kings” protest, rallies, and demonstrations in Philadelphia and the Philly area, including a “pregame” celebration at a SEPTA train station.
What are October 18 protests?
“No Kings” protests, rallies and demonstrations are planned across the nation on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Organizers are protesting President Donald Trump and what they say are his administration’s “abuses of power, cruelty and corruption,” noting on the No Kings website several issues that they say Trump has “doubled down on since June:”
Targets on immigration families by profiling, arresting and detaining people without warrants
Threatening to overtake elections
Gutting health care, environmental protections and education
Rigging maps to silence voters
Ignoring mass shootings at school and communities
Driving up the costs of living, while providing massive giveaway to billionaire allies
‘No Kings’ protest Philadelphia
Philadelphia City Hall will be the site of a large “No Kings” Philly protest on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. Protesters taking SEPTA trains to Philadelphia are “pregaming” at the Norristown Transportation Center at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18. The protest in Philadelphia kicks off at 12 p.m. at Philadelphia City Hall, 1400 John F. Kennedy Blvd.
There are also protests in Northwest Philadelphia beginning at 12 p.m. at 6945 Germantown Ave., and another at 4 p.m. on Germantown Avenue and Cresheim Valley Drive.
Rally at Philadelphia Museum of Art. No King Protest in Philadelphia Pa. on June 14, 2025.
SEPTA bus routes, road closures
SEPTA bus routes through the Center City area will be detoured from their normal routes starting at 10 a.m. on Satuday, Oct. 18, through around 4 p.m. ET. Updates can be found on the SEPTA System Status Page at www.septa.org or @SEPTAPHILLY on X.
Philadelphia road closures begin Saturday morning, Oct. 18, as protesters march from the north side of City Hall down to Independence Hall. These streets will close around 11 a.m. until around 1 p.m. on Saturday:
John F. Kennedy Boulevard, from Juniper Steet to 15th Street
North Broad Street, from John F. Kennedy Boulevard to Arch Street
Additionally, Market Street from Juniper Street to 5th Street will close at noon until around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday; and 500 Market Street will close between around 1:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Officials urge motorists to adhere to “Temporary No Parking signs,” as vehicles parking in those locations during posted hours will be relocated.
‘No Kings’ PA protests; ‘No Kings’ Bethlehem, Media
There are dozens of “No Kings” protests on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Pennsylvania including Media (Springfield) and another hosted by Lehigh Valley Indivisible Bethlehem, kicking off at 3 p.m. at the Bethlehem Rose Garden. In June, a “No Kings” protest held in Bethlehem during the Army’s 250th military parade in Washington, D.C. drew an estimated crowd of 5,000 people, organizers say.
Protests across Southeastern Pennsylvania on Saturday include:
What is ‘No Kings’?
The name “No Kings” comes from the organizers’ belief that President Donald Trump is ruling the country as a monarch, rather than what a leader of a democracy.
“The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings, and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty,” organizers say on their event pages.
No Kings protesters gathered in the millions for anti-Trump demonstrations on June 14 — which coincided with a massive military parade in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the Army’s birthday. The lavish affair was the same day as Trump’s 79th birthday.
Are there ‘No Kings’ protests near me?
Over 2,500 “No Kings” protests are planned on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 across the U.S., the Virgin Islands, Mexico, Canada, Africa, and Europe. The largest events, or anchor events, are planned outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC; Boston, New York City; Atlanta; Kansas City; San Francisco; Chicago; New Orleans; and Bozeman, Montana.
Most states have many protests, and some into the hundreds. A “No Kings” protest map and location list can be found on the NoKings.org website.
Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: What is ‘No Kings’? Mass anti Trump protest Philadelphia this weekend