Protesters in inflatable dinosaur, unicorn and frog costumes were among the more than 1,000 El Pasoans who gathered at Edgemere Linear Park as the part of the nationwide “No Kings” protests against the policies of President Donald Trump.
“No one can say we hate America,” Richard Bruns, a resident of El Paso who attended the protest in an inflatable t-rex costume, said as he waved a U.S. flag with a big red heart in the middle alongside the road.
“I’m not protesting as much as I am showing my love for my country,” he said. “I love the USA.”
Richard Bruns, dressed in the T-Rex costume, gives a high-five to another protester during the El Paso ‘No Kings’ protest on Oct. 18.
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Protesters of all ages gathered at the corner of Edgemere and Airway boulevards on Saturday, Oct. 18, for the second “No Kings'” protest to condemn the growing heavy-handed policies of Trump. Cars passed honking thier horns, as protesters cheered on and called for the removal of Trump as president.
The protesters point to how the Trump administration’s policies have resulted in higher costs for consumers, and how violent raids by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and the militarization of cities across the country have generated fear for minority communities.
“Both of my kids are in the military, but I can’t stand the way the country is going,” Monica Lawson, 64, of El Paso, said. “All the Trump policies are so mean and ugly, and ruining our economy with all the tariffs.”
Many joined the protests in costume, like Bruns. They did so out of solidarity with the protesters in Portland, Oregon, who have worn inflatable costumes during their protests against ICE and the militarization of their community.
A woman waves a U.S. flag while wearing a sign that says “I love America, 0 Kings” during the ‘No Kings’ protest on Oct. 18.
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But the increasingly unpopular Trump administration policies have made many people across the country angry. Many no longer see the values the were raised with reflected by the federal government.
“Everything that I knew America was is being completely destroyed, dismantled,” Raul Harden, 30, of El Paso, who joined the protests, said. “They are defunding very important organizations that help people. They are instilling hate. They have a completely racist and horrible rhetoric that is putting people against each other. I think that we should all be standing here today.”
The protestsers were once again joined by U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, who has spoken out against the abuses of power by President Trump.
“We are seeing a president who continues to violate the law and the constitution,” Escobar said. “We cannot sit on our hands and just (let) it happen, we have to fight back. At the same time, we have to find joy in the very dark moments, and there is nothing more joyful than democracy-loving Americans coming together to say we will not stand for what we are seeing.”
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‘No Kings’ anti-Trump protests spread nationally
Millions of people took to the streets as part of the “No Kings” protests on Oct. 18 in over 2,500 cities across the nation.
The first “No Kings” protest drew millions of people across the country to protest Trump and his military parade on June 14. The protests and parade coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday.
Saturday’s protests were far larger than the first “No Kings” demonstration, according to organizers, with some estimating there were 7 million people who joined protests nationwide. The “No Kings” protests are organized by communities, with support from a coaltion of labor unions, rights groups and Democrat leaders like Bernie Sanders.
Protesters line Edgemere Boulevard during the El Paso “No Kings” protest on Oct. 18, 2025.
The El Paso protest was organized by the local branch of Indivisible, a national progressive network of community groups that emerged during the first Trump administration in 2017.
The Trump administration has faced increasing protest over the deployment of U.S. military to cities like Portland, Oregon and Chicago, Illinois, arresting immigrants without warrants by masked federal agents, and gutting health care, environmental protections and terrorizing communities.
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Republican leaders and the Trump administration cabinet members sought to cast a shadow over the “No Kings” protests, dubbing it the “Hate America Rally.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, went on Fox News to try to connect the protests to Antifa, according to The Hill. “Antifa” is a term that the Trump administration has applied to all left-wing groups that oppose his policies, but only means “Anti-Fascist” and is not an organized group.
Other Republican leaders have attempted to claim that the protesters are being funded by George Soros, a billionaire who has backed Democratic causes. Invoking Soros, who is Jewish, as a funder of protests is a recognized antisemitic dog whistle, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
A balloon in the shape of cartoon version of President Donald Trump wearing a diaper floats away southbound during the ‘No Kings’ protest in El Paso, Texas, on Oct. 18, 2025.
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But those who joined Saturday’s protest rejected these accusations. Patriotism and love for their country was at the heart of why they said they were protesting, and the rollbacks of the post World War II order has raised concerns.
“I love my country and, obviously, I’ve raised patriotic kids and I worked for the military much of my career, but there are many things we need to do,” Lawson said. “But ICE raids and hurting people who are here to work and make our life better, doing jobs that we don’t want to do, and making enemies everywhere, it’s making us unpredictable.”
Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@gannett.com; @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso joins national ‘No Kings’ protests against President Trump