Samuel O’Neal
soneal@star-telegram.com
Hundreds of Fort Worth residents gathered in heavy rain at General Worth Square in downtown Fort Worth on Saturday afternoon to join in on another round of nationwide No Kings protests against President Donald Trump.
Two previous No Kings protests took place in Fort Worth, last June 14 and Oct. 18. Other similar protests took place across the Metroplex on Saturday, including in Dallas, Southlake, McKinney, Irving, Frisco and others.
A sign displayed at General Worth Square during Fort Worth’s No Kings protest Saturday afternoon. Samuel O’Neal soneal@star-telegram.com
“We are tired, we are fed up,” said Sabrina Ball, a rally attendee and co-leader of advocacy group Indivisible 12. “We are here together to push back against authoritarianism, against fascism, against white Christian nationalism, and we are here to say in one voice, no kings, no matter what color you are, how you love, you belong here with us.”
On Saturday, crowds arrived at General Worth Square at around 1:30 p.m., and the official rally began at 2 p.m. The event started with a number of speakers as attendees crowded around a stage in front of the Fort Worth Convention Center. A number of booths were set up along West Ninth Street, including tables for Tarrant County Democrats, The Justice Movement, and a table offering to make signs for those attendees who came without one.
Speakers address to rally attendees Saturday in front of the Fort Worth Convention Center before the No Kings march through Sundance Square. Samuel O’Neal soneal@star-telegram.com
The rally started with the playing of John Lennon’s “Imagine” as protesters made their way down Main Street and closer to the convention center. What started with a few hundred people scattered across the area quickly turned into a gathering of closer to 1,000. The rain started to pour as the protest began, with rallygoers pulling out ponchos and umbrellas to stay dry.
Tyler Turner, a Tarrant County resident and local union leader, said people showed up to the rally because the working class is tired of living paycheck to paycheck while “billionaires run the country.”
Protesters helds sign and participated in chants in front of the Fort Worth Convention Center on Saturday before taking off on a march during No Kings protests. Samuel O’Neal soneal@star-telegram.com
“In the richest country in the world, no one should have to choose between rent and groceries, between medical care and survival,” Turner said. “Now we see a billionaire class trying to rig the system even further, trying to crown their king over a country that was never meant to have one. Well we are here to say, loud and clear, no kings, no crowns.”
Nydia Cardenas, a speaker and candidate for Tarrant County Commissioners Court, took the stage with Jacqualyne Johnson, the mother of Anthony Johnson Jr., who was killed in Tarrant County Jail in 2024. Johnson Jr.’s death sparked outrage from his family, who says his death was unlawful and preventable.
Jacqualyne Johnson told attendees during a lengthy speech prior to the march that the No Kings protest symbolizes more than just what is going on in Washington, D.C. It also represents local leadership, like City Council and Tarrant County elected officials.
Fort Worth No Kings signs were displayed across General Worth Square during the protest Saturday. Samuel O’Neal soneal@star-telegram.com
Cardenas, who was one of several who spoke to the crowd prior to the rally turning into a march through downtown Fort Worth, said everyone who came to protest proved that they care deeply about their community and country and it was time to make their voices louder.
“Stand up and fight back,” Cardenas said. “Who is angry about our democracy being dismantled? If we’re not angry, we’re not paying attention. But every single thing that is enraging us about what’s going on at the federal level is also happening right here in Tarrant County. Who is angry about the terrorizing of our friends and neighbors that happen to be immigrants?”
Dancers performed in front of the Fort Worth Convention Center at the beginning of the No Kings protest Saturday. Samuel O’Neal soneal@star-telegram.com
After Cardenas’ speech, the rain started to subside and attendees grabbed their signs and took to the streets of downtown Fort Worth to march. They started in front of the Convention Center at West Ninth Street and marched down Main Street.
The march, which started shortly after 3 p.m. and lasted until after 5 p.m., went all across Sundance Square. The crowd turned off Main Street onto West Fourth, then down Throckmorton and West Second.
“Vote them out!” protesters chanted as they marched through Sundance Square.
Fort Worth’s protest was one of more than 20 scheduled across DFW on Saturday, including one in Dallas, where at least one person was detained after a clash with counter-protesters. There were not any counter-protest incidents during Fort Worth’s rally.
In Southlake, hundreds of people gathered at Southlake Town Square on Saturday morning. Speakers at that rally included Alisa Simmons, a Democratic Tarrant County commissioner; Tiffany Burks, a Democrat running for district attorney; and Maryellen Hicks, who has spent over 50 years as a lawyer and judge in Texas.
“They’re trying to press us out,” said Bishop Mark Kirkland, the senior pastor at Greater Saint Mark Ministries in Fort Worth. “I’ll be damned if I’ll be shut out. I’ll be damned if I don’t vote. We died for the right to vote, and we live for the right to vote. This is our land, from sea to shining sea. And we don’t make no apologies for how we fight. If we don’t fight, we don’t win.”
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 6:46 PM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Samuel O’Neal is a local news reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram covering higher education and local news in Fort Worth. He joined the team in December 2025 after previously working as a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He graduated from Temple University, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the school’s student paper, The Temple News.