On October 18, 2025, the streets of Ocean City, New Jersey, pulsed with the energy of more than 1,000 demonstrators, their voices joining a nationwide chorus in a sweeping protest known as the No Kings rally. The message was as clear as the autumn sky: opposition to President Donald Trump and what protesters described as an alarming drift toward authoritarianism and oligarchy in American governance. Across the United States—and even overseas—similar scenes played out, with events in more than 2,500 cities and towns, all echoing the same urgent refrain: democracy, not monarchy.
The Ocean City rally began promptly at 10 a.m. in a small park at the intersection of Ninth Street and Bay Avenue, before spilling out onto the sidewalks and partway across the Route 52 Causeway bridge’s pedestrian walkway. Protesters held aloft a colorful array of signs, emblazoned with slogans like “No Kings Since 1776,” “No Crown for the Clown,” “Dump Trump,” “Democracy – yes, Monarchy – no,” and “Restore Democracy.” The symbolism was pointed, with many signs and chants directly referencing the American Revolution’s rejection of monarchy and the founding ideals of the nation.
According to local leader Lorraine Kilpatrick, who helped organize the Ocean City event as part of the Indivisible group, the turnout exceeded 1,000—a number she said they had anticipated, given the groundswell of frustration. “We got so many thank-yous for doing this,” Kilpatrick told local reporters, reflecting on the gratitude expressed by participants and passersby alike. “We are scared. We are frightened. We do not want to see what’s going on in the country.”
The No Kings demonstration in Ocean City was just one node in a vast network of coordinated protests, with other South Jersey towns—Atlantic City, Cape May Court House, Galloway Township, Millville, Glassboro, Pennsville, Pine Hill, and Haddon Township—hosting their own rallies. Nationally, the movement was designed as a decentralized action, empowering local communities to speak out while building momentum for broader, sustained resistance. As reported by organizers and participants, the protests were overwhelmingly peaceful, marked by creative expressions such as inflatable unicorn and T-Rex costumes lampooning Trump and the political climate.
Terri Reese, a Democratic candidate for New Jersey’s Second Congressional District in 2026, addressed the Ocean City crowd. Dressed in a unicorn costume, Reese’s sign declared “People Over Billionaires,” a pointed jab at Trump’s wealth and the influence of the ultra-rich in American politics. “It’s been an oligarchy and authoritarianism,” she said, voicing a sentiment widely shared among the demonstrators. “The oligarchy is running the country and squashing the constitutional rights of everyday citizens.”
Protesters like Ellen Holland of Beesley’s Point summed up the prevailing mood: “We’re protesting against the loss of all of our freedoms,” she said, brandishing a “Hands Off Democracy” sign. Her neighbor, Margie Barham, added, “We are not America anymore. It’s not the America I know, I love and I grew up in.” For many, the protests were a way to reclaim a sense of agency and to remind the nation of its founding values.
While the demonstrators’ messages were clear, pushback was swift from Trump’s supporters. Some Republicans labeled the rallies as “Hate America” events, dismissing the protesters’ concerns as overblown or even anti-patriotic. Trump himself, in an interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, disputed the notion that he harbored kingly ambitions, stating, “They’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king.”
The No Kings rallies were not confined to the U.S. borders. According to participants and online commentators, international solidarity was palpable. In London, for instance, similar protests were held under the banner “No Tyrants,” a nod to the city’s own monarchy. Groups like Indivisible London and Democrats Abroad UK organized these demonstrations, framing them as a stand against authoritarianism and the perceived erosion of the rule of law by Trump’s administration. As one overseas supporter put it, “The support and protests around the world on the last No Kings protest felt like a warm hug. It’s been really hard to watch our country fall. Thank you for the solidarity—it means so much to us.”
Beyond the rallies themselves, the No Kings movement is part of a larger resistance campaign called Resistance United. This initiative includes additional steps such as Stop Spending—a call to limit purchases to essentials as an economic protest—and Occupy DC, a planned nonviolent mobilization in Washington, D.C., beginning November 5, 2025. The goal: to demand the removal of what organizers call the Trump regime through sustained, peaceful action. The playbook, activists note, draws on historic examples of nonviolent resistance, from Poland’s Solidarity movement in the 1980s to Tunisia’s uprising in 2011.
Organizers and commentators invoked the Declaration of Independence as foundational to their cause, highlighting its assertion that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed” and that it is the people’s right “to alter or to abolish” governments destructive of their rights. The movement’s rhetoric often emphasized democratic socialism, pluralism, and the need to protect vulnerable populations, drawing lessons from America’s darker historical chapters—from the treatment of Indigenous peoples to the internment of Japanese Americans and the era of Jim Crow.
Calls for action extended well beyond the protest day. Organizers encouraged participants to speak at rallies, motivate crowds, and spread the word through social and traditional media. Economic boycotts, support for local businesses over multinational corporations, and voter engagement were all touted as ways to build resistance and restore democracy. As one activist put it, “Words are our most powerful tool to support the Anti-Trump / Fight the Oligarchs Resistance. Not spending is second!”
Yet, the movement’s leaders and supporters were quick to stress the importance of peaceful protest, civic engagement, and solidarity across political divides. “Let’s vow to quit the hate and vitriol between these political parties,” one participant wrote online. “Let’s agree to disagree in a civil manner.” The hope, many expressed, was that by coming together—regardless of party or background—Americans could defend their democracy against what they saw as an existential threat.
As the sun set over Ocean City and similar towns across the country, the message from the No Kings rallies resonated: democracy is not a spectator sport. For those who gathered, marched, and spoke out, the day was a testament to the enduring power of peaceful resistance and the conviction that, even in turbulent times, the future remains unwritten—and still very much in the hands of the people.
