Sunny skies greeted demonstrators as they prepared for Saturday afternoon’s “No Kings” protest outside the City County Building in Downtown Pittsburgh — just one of a string of rallies across southwestern Pennsylvania and the region.
“We have reproductive rights,” one of the event organizers, Tracy Baton, declared at the outset of the event.
“No kings, no kings,” the crowd chanted in response.
“We vote for our lives. We will stand with our neighbors,” Baton called out.
“No kings, no kings!”
“The people have the power. “
Organizers and participants say the rally is an effort to counter President Donald Trump at a time when, participants contend, there have been few checks on his power.
“I think we’re really on the edge of something very dangerous,” said Nicky Snyder of Highland Park. “I feel like the country is turning in a way that I’ve never seen it in my whole life. I’ve lived 52 years in America and I could cry every day. So that’s why I’m here.”
Evie Chmar, a University of Pittsburgh student from Baltimore, agreed that “It’s really scary, everything that’s going on.” But, she added, “it’s really hopeful when you see this many people organized [who] share the same views as you and do so in such a joyful and kind and respectful way. It gives me a lot of hope. … Hopefully from here we can figure out a way to organize and have our lawmakers actually make change and stand up to Trump and his regime.”
The “No Kings” movement is meant to “empower Pittsburgh to resist authoritarianism, fascism, and the destruction of democracy” nonviolently, Baton, an organizer with even sponsor Indivisible Pittsburgh, told WESA.
In a statement, event organizers said the demonstrations were meant to show that “Americans across the country will not cower in response to President Trump’s authoritarian takeover — we reject strongman politics and corruption and will fight until we get the representation we deserve.”
“[W]e will demonstrate organized nonviolent people power that outpaces any authoritarian aspirations,” it added.
Indivisible is behind a rally at the City County Building — one of several demonstrations happening around the Pittsburgh area. Others are scheduled for Allegheny Commons Park on the city’s North Side, Shadyside, McCandless, Mount Lebanon, and Sewickley.
Demonstrators say President Donald Trump is eroding the system of checks and balances built into the American government with actions such as deploying National Guard troops to Democrat-led cities that did not ask for military help and launching Department of Justice investigations into people who were critical of Trump or his businesses.
Some Republican leaders characterized the demonstrations as a dangerous “hate America” movement, even before the weekend protests took place. On Friday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson claimed the rallies would be made up of “the Marxists, the socialists, the Antifa advocates.”
“They hate the diea of rule of law. They fight against it all the time,” he said.
Demonstrators have pushed back against such characterizations, with many contending that peacefulprotest was essential to the American tradition.
“Radicalized by basic decency,” read one sign held by a protester along Grant Street Saturday. “I am not the enemy within,” read another.
Kyle Ferreira
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90.5 WESA
Demonsrators gathering in advance of the “No Kings” protest in Downtown Pittsburgh Oct. 18, 2025.
The first “No Kings” events held in June marked one of the largest days of protest in American history. Demonstrations in Pittsburgh — as with those across the U.S. — were nonviolent.
Events like the “No Kings” demonstrations “can play a vital role in sending a message not only to the Trump administration, but to other elected officials that what they are doing to people in this country is not okay,” said Vic Walczac, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.
“Large public expressions of dissent against the government are an important and time-honored tactic to promote social change,” he added.
This story is developing and will be updated.