‘No Kings’ Rallies Held Across US

AUGUSTINE, Fla.—More than 3,100 “No Kings” protests opposing President Donald Trump were held across the nation on Saturday.

This time—the third such gathering since Trump took office as the 47th president—Minnesota will serve as the movement’s flagship. In that state earlier this year, clashes between federal immigration officials and protesters escalated and turned deadly.

The earliest protests Saturday kicked off in the morning on the East Coast of the United States, such as in St. Augustine, Florida, where more than 1,000 people gathered at 9:30 a.m. in the historic downtown area.

Some attendees waved American flags, military veterans held Gadsden flags, and the vast majority of protesters held signs denouncing and mocking Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Iran War, Elon Musk, and other aspects of the current administration. Cars driving by the large crowd honked in support.

Protesters could be heard chanting “No more war,” “Show me what democracy looks like—this is what democracy looks like,” and “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go.”

A lone counter-protester was seen among the crowd, filming himself and the protesters, who heckled him as he walked past.

In the past, organizations such as the Communist Party USA have participated.

“What began in June as a single day of defiance has become a sustained national resistance to tyranny,” the No Kings website says, “spreading from small towns to city centers and across every community determined to defend democracy.”

The group’s list of grievances ranges from immigration enforcement to airstrikes on Iran, and the group accuses Trump of acting like a monarch who “thinks his rule is absolute.”

One of the protesters who spoke to The Epoch Times, who wished to go by Tony D., carried a massive American flag throughout the roughly two-hour event.

The flag was purposefully flipped upside-down to symbolize a nation in crisis, he said.

“We’ve got a lot of problems in this country,” Tony said. “We all have a lot of different concerns and complaints, but I think the overarching message is the state of the country is not going in the right direction.”

Tony’s biggest concern, he said, is that the administration is focusing too much on foreign conflicts, calling Trump an “embarrassment.” Saturday was the fifth protest he’s attended against the president.

“We are losing our credibility,” Tony said. “We look like jokes to a lot of the world.”

Another protester, Army veteran Kent Olsen, who was drafted and served in the Vietnam War, told The Epoch Times he has attended multiple protests against Trump and his policies.

“I’m just bothered every day by the things that [Trump] does, and it keeps getting worse,” Olsen said. “I’m just so disgusted by the things [the Trump administration is] doing.”

Elyssa Male, another protester who spoke to The Epoch Times, attended the event with her dog, Lilo. Male wore a hat reading “Make Racism Wrong Again,” while her dog wore a shirt saying the Trump administration is destroying the U.S. constitutional principle of checks and balances.

She said her biggest reason for attending the protest was immigration enforcement operations and accused federal agents of lacking training and “racially profiling people.”

She called Saturday’s turnout encouraging because the previous “No Kings” protest she attended last year in the nation’s oldest city garnered a much smaller crowd.

While Male said she mainly showed up to protest ICE operations, she also disagreed with the Trump administration’s handling of issues including abortion, the Department of Government Efficiency, support for veterans and teachers, and energy.

“[Trump] doesn’t care about the environment. He just wants to drill,” Male said. “He cares about money.”

Flagship Protest in Minnesota

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), musicians, activists, and state politicians spoke and performed at the featured event in the state capital, St. Paul. Music artist Bruce Springsteen also performed.

The emcee of the event, comedian Lizz Winstead, chanted with the crowd: “None of us are free till all of us are free.”

Walz took the podium upon a stage with the state capitol building as the backdrop and told thousands of protesters: “Welcome to the freest state in the nation.”

Walz began his speech by criticizing the weeks-long ICE operations earlier this year in his state targeting criminal illegal immigrants. He alleged that federal officers were untrained and harassed legal residents.

“When democracy itself seems to be at risk, it was Minnesota who said, ‘Not on our watch,’” Walz said.

The Minnesota governor gave a nod to the state’s immigrant population, telling them they are loved and valuable. Walz specifically told the Somali population in the state that he will never abandon them.

“Your great-grandchildren will still be here” after Trump leaves office, Walz said to Somalis in the state.

Minnesota’s welfare programs and some Somali immigrants have been under federal investigation after a massive fraud scandal surfaced in the state, which led to dozens of individuals being charged and convicted, the vast majority of whom are of Somali descent. The scandal led to Walz’s dropping his reelection bid in January as he said he could not focus on winning the race while combating fraud in the state.

Welcomed on stage by the governor, Springsteen began with a song he released in late January, called “Streets of Minneapolis.”

It decries the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, protesters who were fatally shot by officers in separate confrontations during Minneapolis immigration enforcement operations.

Sen. Sanders called the Trump administration “Orwellian” during his speech.

He compared “No Kings” protesters across the country to the founders of America who rejected England’s rule 250 years ago.

Organizers projected upwards of 100,000 attendees in St. Paul for this installment of the No Kings protests. Last June, a “No Kings” event drew about 80,000 people to the capital. The demonstrations were also held across the nation in October. Millions participated each time, coordinators said.

Critics React

Republican lawmakers, influencers, and media personalities are equally critical of the protests as the protesters are of the Trump administration.

The White House said the protests stem from “leftist funding networks” with little genuine support.

“The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement released to multiple media outlets.

Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) called out what he said is the hypocrisy of the “No Kings” protests.

“[Trump] won the popular vote and every single swing state,” Crane said in a post on X. “He’s the President of the United States.”

“You kicked [President] Joe Biden off—or ran him off—and then you ordained [Vice President] Kamala Harris without a single primary or a vote,” Burchett said. “You kicked [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] off. You sued to have him kicked off the daggum ballot.”

The Tennessee lawmaker also noted that there were efforts to kick Trump off the 2024 presidential election ballot.

“There’s no kings on this side of the ocean,” Burchett said. “The only monarchy seems to be in the Democrat Party.”

Another talk show host, David Pollack for One America News Network, said he doesn’t understand the “No Kings” protests of a democratically elected U.S. president.

Manisha Sinha, American History chair at the University of Connecticut, said she believes the last two No Kings protests were among the largest protests in U.S. history.

“I’m not sure what the turnout will be on March 28 but certainly their last two attempts have been extremely successful and were nationwide, in big cities as well as small towns and hamlets,” Sinha said.

The sheer size of participation suggests the movement is authentic, she said.

Sinha said she senses that the protests serve as an outlet for people to make their voices heard at a time when they feel frustrated. “They see no checks and balances being implemented against Trump’s wishes and whims,” she said.

“So, I think it is extremely significant to see these enormous protests. We can see that they tend to have an impact, as we saw in the city of Minneapolis, even though … it cost the lives of two American citizens,” Sinha said.

Andrellos Mitchell, a Washington attorney and legal commentator, interprets the situation differently.

Mitchell, who describes himself as a “lifelong independent voter” who has cast ballots for candidates of all political stripes, calls the protests “not particularly effective.”

“They largely amount to the choir preaching to the choir,” he told The Epoch Times, “rather than persuading undecided voters or influencing policy outcomes.”

Mitchell also said funders of such movements typically come from “established left-leaning networks” of media figures, actors, entertainers, and other influential people.

“The driving force is opposition to President Trump rather than a clearly defined, forward-looking agenda,” he said.

“As for significance, I don’t see this movement as having lasting impact. The American people already rendered a decision through the election,” Mitchell said. “The protests don’t change that reality, and they don’t offer an alternative program that resonates broadly.”

However, Mitchell does expect that the demonstrations will continue throughout Trump’s second presidency.

“I do not see them evolving into a sustained movement beyond that,” he said, adding, “This appears more like political theater than a durable political force.”