On October 18, 2025, streets across the United States pulsed with the energy of millions of demonstrators participating in the second wave of "No Kings" protests, a coordinated national movement opposing President Donald Trump’s administration. From the heart of Raleigh, North Carolina, to the sun-drenched boulevards of Miami and the storm-threatened avenues of Mississippi, protestors gathered in a vivid display of collective action, united by a belief that American democracy is under threat.
Organizers of the "No Kings" movement, a coalition of political action groups including Indivisible, Public Citizen, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and others, called for more than 2,700 rallies nationwide, making this one of the largest days of protest in American history. According to the Miami Herald, the events in Florida alone numbered at least 80, with Bayfront Park in Miami hosting around 500 protestors and Tampa Bay seeing thousands more at sites from Tyrone Square to Tampa City Hall.
The "No Kings" moniker, as explained on the movement’s website and echoed by the USA Today network, reflects the organizers’ conviction that President Trump is behaving more like a monarch than an elected leader. “America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people,” the website declares. Demonstrators were urged to wear yellow—a color with ties to pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong, Eastern Ukraine, and South Korea—as a symbol of unity. “Yellow is our shared signal, bright, bold and impossible to ignore, a reminder that America’s power belongs to our people, not to kings,” the organizers stated.
The roots of this protest stretch back to June 14, 2025, when the first "No Kings Day" coincided with President Trump’s 79th birthday and the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary. That day, over 5 million Americans participated in about 2,100 protests nationwide, according to the ACLU. The date was also marked by a lavish military parade in Washington, D.C., estimated to cost $40 million—a spectacle that organizers and administration officials insisted was solely to celebrate the Army, though critics saw it as an assertion of militarized power.
In North Carolina, Saturday’s demonstrations followed the pattern of the June protests, with large crowds gathering in cities across the state. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson released a statement urging participants to protest peacefully: “Peaceful protest is one of the most important rights we have as Americans. It’s how people make their voices heard and stand up for what they believe in. I encourage everyone who chooses to demonstrate to do so peacefully and to look out for one another’s safety. Protesting peacefully honors both the cause and the Constitution. Peaceful protest strengthens our democracy; violence undermines it.”
Despite the calls for nonviolence, past protests have not been without incident. In June, isolated confrontations in Los Angeles and Portland saw police deploying tear gas and crowd-control munitions. Tragedy struck in Salt Lake City, where a safety volunteer, attempting to intervene in a potentially violent situation, accidentally shot and killed protester Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, a beloved fashion designer. Organizers have since doubled down on safety training and de-escalation tactics, determined to prevent further violence.
In Mississippi, the movement was undeterred by forecasts of severe weather. Demonstrations were planned in Gulfport, Oxford, Jackson, Tupelo, Starkville, Hernando, Hattiesburg, and Corinth, with the People’s Union USA calling for a one-day economic blackout to coincide with the protests. The Clarion Ledger reported that previous "No Kings" events in Mississippi, including a 1,500-person march at the State Capitol, were peaceful. This time, the National Weather Service warned of storms with quarter-sized hail and winds up to 60 mph, prompting organizers to urge participants to stay informed and safe.
Florida’s rallies had their own local flavor. In downtown Miami, protestors gathered at Bayfront Park, some dressed in inflatable animal costumes, others waving handmade signs with slogans like “The United States needs rules not rulers” and “WE ARE ALL IMMIGRANTS.” Music by Bad Bunny set a celebratory tone before speeches by local Democrats. According to the Miami Herald, an 82-year-old Coast Guard veteran named Ed, dressed as Uncle Sam, was among those in attendance. “The last time I marched was in 1966 against the Vietnam War,” he said. “I think we’re in a worse place.”
Families were present, too. Four-year-old Ellie MacLaren sat with her mother, nurse Caitlin MacLaren, who explained, “We want our kids to live in a safe country where they can speak their opinions freely and their rights are protected. We are concerned about the crumbling education system, reproductive rights being taken away, freedom of speech being taken away. We are here to fight for their future.”
Healthcare was a recurring theme at the protests, especially in Hollywood, Florida, where physician Zoraida Rivera Hidalgo and union spokesperson Talia Adderly voiced worries about the future of the Affordable Care Act and the financial stability of public hospitals. “We just don’t want that falling on the backs of our nurses, our doctors [and] our social workers,” Adderly told the Miami Herald. “We don’t want these big tax breaks that only fund billionaires.”
Organizers repeatedly emphasized the importance of nonviolence. In Tampa Bay, Indivisible urged participants not to bring weapons and to focus on peaceful resistance. Claudia Schultz, a 73-year-old protestor in Hollywood, summed up the spirit of the day in her pink inflatable pig costume: “They want us to be violent. You can’t get any less violent than this.”
The response from political leaders was sharply divided. House Speaker Mike Johnson called the event a “Hate America rally,” while Texas Governor Greg Abbott activated the National Guard to deter violence and protect property. “Texas will deter criminal mischief and work with local law enforcement to arrest anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property,” Abbott said. In contrast, California Governor Gavin Newsom expressed hope for peaceful demonstrations, remarking that Trump “hopes there is disruption, there’s some violence” that he can exploit. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, reiterated his support for anti-riot laws and had previously warned that drivers would not be at fault if they hit protestors they felt threatened by.
The White House response was notably dismissive. When asked about the protests, spokesperson Abigail Jackson replied, “Who cares?”—a remark echoed by other administration officials throughout the week. The administration has consistently downplayed the scale and significance of the protests, with one official calling the June mobilization an “utter failure.”
Despite the dismissals and the risks, organizers and participants see the "No Kings" movement as a vital stand for democracy, civil liberties, and the principle that power in America comes from the people. As Cindy Lerner, a Miami organizer, put it to the Miami Herald, “[Protesters] know, if nothing else, this is a good first step to be in a community of people who want to stand up and speak out and protect our democracy. We’re hoping we’re going to have probably closer to 5,000 people.”
Saturday’s demonstrations, marked by yellow attire, creative signs, and a spirit of peaceful resistance, underscored the deep divisions and passionate convictions shaping the nation’s political landscape in 2025. Whether these protests will influence policy or politics remains to be seen, but for millions, the message was clear: America has no kings.
