Organizers said there would be “much higher levels of anger” and more participants than at the June protests. Republicans accuse the protesters of hating America.
Naked cyclists protest Trump’s National Guard plan in Portland, Oregon
Naked cyclists in Portland, Oregon, rode four miles in the rain to protest President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard.
Organizers of the Oct. 18 “No Kings” protest, which shares a name with a previous protest, believe it will be the largest single-day protest in modern American history, are expecting an unprecedented turnout.
“The level of anger is much higher” than at the previous protest of the same name in June, said Lisa Gilbert, co-director of Public Citizen, one of the organizers. “It’s not just policies that we don’t like…it’s things that are actually chipping away at our democracy, the fundamental rights and privileges that we all expect…People are saying, ‘I’ve never acted before, but now I feel like I have to act.'”
Organizers and activists told USA TODAY that the situation has changed over the past four months, as the Trump administration has ramped up immigration enforcement, sent troops to several Democratic-controlled cities, made sweeping changes to America’s health care system and cracked down on the First Amendment.
“If you’re not scared, you’re not paying attention. These people are serious. They’re actively trying to take away your constitutional right to peacefully protest. That’s how dictatorships work,” said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, one of the organizers. “What they fear above all else is that a popular, peaceful, organized population will rebel against their unpopular system design.”
In addition to Indivisble and Public Citizen, host organizations include long-standing activist organizations such as MoveOn, ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, and Working Families Power, as well as multiple labor unions and grassroots groups that have formed since Election Day 2024, such as 50501. The name “No Kings” comes from the organizers’ belief that President Donald Trump is behaving more like a monarch than a democratic leader.
In total, 2,500 events are scheduled in large cities, suburbs and small towns across the country, dwarfing the 1,800 events scheduled before the June 14 protests of the same name. Anchor events are planned outside the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Boston, New York, Atlanta, Kansas City, San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans and Bozeman, Montana.
When asked for comment on the protests, White House press secretary Abigail Jackson said, “Who cares?”
“It’s very real and important.”
Routt County organizers are planning a “mile-long pro-democracy line” with people waving signs along the main road in the Colorado mountain town of Steamboat Springs, said organizer Jacqueline Denney, 57.
Denney said about 1,500 people attended in June, but he expects more people to show up on Oct. 18 depending on ICE activity in the area.
“They are robbing and terrorizing our people. It feels very personal,” she said.
She expects some people will protest out of fear that public land will be sold or destroyed. Others are also likely to come forward in response to President Trump’s threat to crack down on protests, she said.
Denny said the need to protest “feels very real and important right now.”
what the republicans are saying
Two members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet and some Republicans in Congress have accused Democrats of extending the two-week government shutdown because of the mass “No Kings” protests, saying Democrats want to show party activists that they are pushing back against the Trump administration.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy told FOX on October 13 that he expected millions of participants to be “some of the antifa-paid protesters.” (Antifa, short for “antifascist,” is a loosely organized leaderless activist group that Repulians often condemn for acts of violence in public.)
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said on Fox News on Oct. 10 that he has heard Republicans won’t reopen the government until after the convention because Democrats “can’t face their fanatical base.” Activists are angry with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who voted with Republicans in March to avoid a government shutdown at the time.
“The theory we have right now is they’re planning a Hate America rally on the National Mall on October 18th, and it’s all pro-Hamas and Antifa people, and they’re all coming out,” Jawson said of the protests.
“Calvary is coming”
Rally organizers laughed at Republican claims that Democrats were shutting down the government on their behalf.
Still, Levin acknowledged the context behind the government shutdown and said activists are watching to see if elected Democrats will stand up against Trump.
“I’m now telling every elected Democrat I talk to, ‘The cavalry is coming on October 18th. Millions of people are going to leave, and if you’re fighting back against this administration, if you’re standing strong, they’re going to celebrate it,'” he said. “And conversely, if you capitulate again, primary season is coming up and people will be looking for a new leader.”
Protests in Washington, D.C., are scheduled to take place at the base of the U.S. Capitol. So far, only one lawmaker is scheduled to speak: Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
Safety concerns during peaceful gatherings
Organizers said while some people may be afraid to participate in protests because the National Guard is deployed in several major cities, it’s important to show up in large numbers.
“[Trump]wants to suppress speech. The best way to prevent speech from being suppressed is for too many people to exercise their First Amendment rights together, and you can’t arrest everyone,” Hunter Dunn, national spokesperson for protest group 50501, told USA TODAY. “That’s how you weaken him.”
Previous protests held by the coalition have been overwhelmingly peaceful. Local organizers are required to undergo security and de-escalation training as part of their preparation for protests.
“We have been clear that what we want to achieve here is peace. We are out in the streets exercising our First Amendment rights and making our voices heard. We are not planning anything that could be misconstrued as violence. And we are working hard to protect our people, providing a lot of training and preparation and building systems and mechanisms to ensure that those who gather are safe,” Public Citizen’s Gilbert said.
Organizers have pushed back against Republican claims that the protests are dangerous.
“What you’ll see at No Kings II in October is a raucous, joyful crowd expressing their political views in a peaceful and fun way: people with dogs, people with kids, people with funny signs, music, dancing, laughter, community building, and the collective elation that comes when so many people come together for a common purpose,” Levin said.
The Rev. Paul Rauschenbusch, president of the Interfaith Alliance, which is inviting religious groups across the country to join, said the “No Kings” protests were not the place to cause trouble.
“If you really want to get arrested, there’s a place for it. No Kings isn’t that,” he said. “Kings don’t show up willingly.”
Seema Kanani, a health care worker and naturalized citizen who participated in the first “No Kings” protests and other protests since 2020, told USA TODAY she is not afraid to participate.
“I believe deeply in nonviolence, protesting, and organizing, especially as I am of East Indian descent and am an immigrant myself,” she said. Rather, it’s her teenage children who are worried that she might get arrested, or worse.
“I always have to actually alleviate their fears more than my own. But, no, I’m not worried at all, because the common thread with all these protests is that they’re peaceful,” she said.
Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY’s senior national political correspondent, can be reached at swire@usatoday.com.
