{"id":44562,"date":"2025-10-17T11:45:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T18:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=44562"},"modified":"2025-10-17T11:45:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T18:45:09","slug":"no-kings-rallies-against-trump-authoritarianism-could-be-largest-protest-in-us-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/10\/17\/no-kings-rallies-against-trump-authoritarianism-could-be-largest-protest-in-us-history\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018No Kings\u2019 Rallies Against Trump Authoritarianism Could Be \u2018Largest Protest in US History\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"People<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

People rally in Houston for a June 14, 2025 “No Kings” protest against US President Donald Trump’s policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo by Brett Wilkins\/Common Dreams)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn October 18 and everyday, we\u2019ll show the world what democracy looks like,\u201d said one union leader. \u201cNo thrones! No clowns with crowns! No kings, just working people united in power to defend our democracy.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Brett Wilkins<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 16, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid President Donald Trump\u2019s unprecedented and accelerating attacks on US democracy<\/a>, millions of Americans in every state and beyond<\/a> are preparing to take to the streets Saturday for a second wave of No Kings rallies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In what organizers and participants say<\/a> might be the \u201clargest protest<\/a> in US history\u201d in a single day, No Kings demonstrations are set to take place in more than 2,500 communities across the nation, from its biggest cities to small towns like Burns, Oregon\u2014population 2,700\u2014and Bryson City, North Carolina<\/a>, with 1,500 residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Person<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As Trump Escalates Attacks on Dissent, Oct. 18 \u2018No Kings\u2019 Protests Set to Be Even Bigger Than June<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Person<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

GOP Leaders Smear Upcoming \u2018No Kings\u2019 Marches as \u2018Hate America Rallies\u2019 by \u2018Terrorists\u2019<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first round of No Kings rallies<\/a>, held on June 14, drew an estimated 4-6 million participants to over 2,100 demonstrations. Organizers say that the October 18 protest could be even bigger, as Americans are more alarmed than ever by the assault on democracy by Trump and Republicans<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is truly unprecedented,\u201d Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen<\/a>, told Common Dreams. <\/em>\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing from this administration is authoritarian slip. We are seeing them attack judges<\/a>, attack nonprofits<\/a>, trying to attack the media<\/a>, stifle<\/a> First Amendment<\/a> protected speech, and arrest<\/a> sitting members of Congress<\/a> for doing their oversight of [Immigration<\/a> and Customs Enforcement].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe list, unfortunately, is very long and what we want is what we\u2019ve seen in other countries that have successfully resisted authoritarianism\u2014to hold on to our democracy and to create and protect the checks that we have against that kind of executive overreach,\u201d she added. \u201cIt\u2019s a lofty goal, but it starts with us exercising our right to peacefully protest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As Republicans including US House<\/a> Speaker Mike Johnson<\/a> (La.)\u2014who called<\/a> Saturday\u2019s pro-democracy demonstrations \u201chate America\u201d rallies\u2014attempt to smear the No Kings movement, organizer Sarah Parker of 50501 and Voices of Florida<\/a> said during a Thursday press conference that \u201cwe have a saying in the South: A hit dog will holler, and I\u2019m hearing a lot of noise from Washington<\/a>, DC right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd with that said, on October 18 millions of people just like me… are going to take the streets peacefully and say there will be no kings in America,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are everyday Americans coming together to organize,\u201d Parker said. \u201cThese are faith leaders, teachers, veterans<\/a>, small business owners who are being impacted by extremely dubious tariffs<\/a>. These are people that are seeing their friends and family members be kidnapped<\/a> off the streets. These are everyday Americans that are struggling<\/a> to put groceries into their fridge, and these are Millennials and Gen Zers who were promised a beautiful and free America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are rising to this moment because they feel\u2026 it is their obligation to joyfully and peacefully push back against authoritarianism<\/a> like the generations that came before us,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jamie Contreras, the executive vice president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU<\/a>) 32BJ who is also a US Navy veteran and former undocumented immigrant, told the press conference that \u201cAmerica belongs to the people\u2014working people\u2014not to billionaires<\/a> or a few politicians who think they can rule like kings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing the Trump administration\u2019s designation<\/a> of leftist protesters as \u201cterrorists\u201d and its ominous threat<\/a> to take the \u201csame approach\u201d to them as to the alleged drug traffickers it is extrajudicially assassinating<\/a> on the high seas, Contreras said that \u201cthe real threat to this country isn\u2019t peaceful protesters, it\u2019s politicians shutting down our government to protect billionaires and corporate greed<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s ironic to me is, you call peaceful protesters terrorists, but then the [January 6<\/a> insurrectionists] patriots,\u201d he added. \u201cThat\u2019s so ironic and so far from the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/strong>The federal government shut down<\/a> at the beginning of the month, and as Democrats and Republicans continued to spar over the GOP\u2019s healthcare<\/a> cuts, Johnson warned this week that it could be the longest shutdown ever.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indivisible co-founder Leah Greenberg told the press conference: \u201cRepublicans are blaming and smearing millions of Americans who are peacefully protesting because they have run out of excuses for their own failures. Republicans understand that Americans are blaming them for the shutdown, Americans are blaming them for out-of-control healthcare prices, and a rising affordability crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greenberg continued:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

They are blaming them for the fear and chaos gripping the country. They are panicking and they are flailing and they are searching for anything, literally anything, to distract from their governing failures. And in their desperation they have decided to go with smearing millions of Americans who are coming out to peacefully, directly assert our rights. It is both ridiculous and outrageous. It is ridiculous because it is transparently false, it is outrageous because it is an attack on the First Amendment and on all of our right to free speech<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Parker said Republicans \u201care refusing to accept the fact that the American people are pissed, by the millions. They are refusing to accept the fact that their actions are harming our beloved country. They are refusing to look in the mirror and accept the fact that they are destroying America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ACLU chief political and advocacy officer Deidre Schifeling said during the press conference that \u201cPresident Trump and his allies are abusing their power and attempting to scare their own citizens away from exercising our rights and freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we have seen so far is as troubling as it is illegal,\u201d Schifeling continued. \u201cThe Trump administration<\/a> has directed ICE<\/a> to kidnap people including journalists and students off the street, ripping them from their families and deporting them without due process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheir allies are attempting to undermine fair elections at President Trump\u2019s direction by redistricting voting maps<\/a> and further gerrymandering<\/a> states,\u201d she noted. \u201cAnd they are attempting to limit our First Amendment rights and use the federal government to attack political rivals, stifle dissent, and undermine checks and balances on presidential power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Trump administration has even deployed armed agents and troops<\/a> into American cities, including<\/a> my home of Washington, DC, turning our streets into militarized zones and threatening to do so again to quash Saturday\u2019s protests<\/a>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have to ask: Why are they so afraid of their own citizens?\u201d Schifeling said. \u201cWell, they know that their agenda of selling fear, division, misinformation, lawbreaking, and violence is deeply unpopular. Millions of Americans will peacefully protest on Saturday to tell the Trump administration that we are a country of equals, we are a country of laws that apply to everyone, of due process, and of democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will not be silenced,\u201d she added. \u201cIf we stop exercising our rights, our First Amendment freedom of speech out of fear, we forfeit our power in advance. The best way to protect our freedom is to act free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/embed.bsky.app\/embed\/did:plc:iu4j537hox5huj4bwnwgub4z\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3m3bq6xs7ui2h?id=4456267393447473&ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.commondreams.org%252Fnews%252Fno-kings-october-18-2025&colorMode=system<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gilbert told Common Dreams: <\/em>\u201cI think we can turn this around. I think we wouldn\u2019t be doing this if we couldn\u2019t. We are still in a democracy today, we\u2019re having this free and fair conversation right now, you and I\u2026 and we have a set of protections we can exercise and we need to remind people what democracy is supposed to look like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Contreras said, \u201cWhen working people stand together, no king, no billionaires, no politicians can stop us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn October 18 and everyday, we\u2019ll show the world what democracy looks like,\u201d he added. \u201cNo thrones! No clowns with crowns! No kings, just working people united in power to defend our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brett Wilkins<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People rally in Houston for a June 14, 2025 “No Kings” protest against US President Donald Trump’s policies.  (Photo by Brett Wilkins\/Common Dreams) \u201cOn October 18 and everyday, we\u2019ll show the world what democracy looks like,\u201d said one union leader. \u201cNo thrones! No clowns with crowns! No kings, just working… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44562"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44562"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44563,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44562\/revisions\/44563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}