No Kings, round two
On October 18, 2025, a US nationwide day of nonviolent protest took place to draw attention to, and express disapproval of, policies and actions of President Trump during his second presidency. The demonstrations occurred in approximately 2,700 locations across the United States. A central premise of the gatherings and its core motivation is the tendency of the President to claim a much expanded reach of presidential executive power and a diminished role for the other two pillars of the US system: Judicial and Congress. Others phrase it differently and see it as a response to the blatant authoritarianism the second term of Trump embraces.
Organizers estimated that nearly 7 million people participated in the protests, while an independent analysis suggested attendance between 5 million and 6.5 million, making it one of the largest single-day protest events in US history. Slogans such as “Democracy not Monarchy” and “The Constitution is not optional” were common at rallies.
Afterward, Trump dismissed the protests as consisting of “whacked out” individuals and to display his contempt he shared an AI-generated video on his Truth Social platform depicting an animated version of himself, wearing a crown, piloting a fighter jet and dumping excrement on protesters. The Speaker of the US House said there were a lot of hateful messages and suggested anti-fascist rhetoric was un-American.
The violence that the Trump government seemed to long for, did not materialize. The gatherings were peaceful and non-violent.
What does it take
A therapist noted: “The No Kings protests are a snapshot of an era when emotional catharsis and civic activism have begun to blur. What we’re seeing is a kind of group therapy playing out in the streets,”
“Sharing grievances with like-minded people feels good, but it doesn’t necessarily change anything.”
The No Kings protests were in part inspired by the “3.5 percent principle”, which posits that any movement against authoritarianism engaging 3.5% or more of the population has never failed to bring about change. This theory originates from research by political scientists Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan, who analyzed civil resistance campaigns from 1900 to 2006.
This idea is central to the movement’s strategy, emphasizing that significant political change can occur when a committed portion of the population actively participates. Organizers of the initial June 14, 2025 protests, claimed about 5 million people participated nationwide, viewing this mass turnout as a critical step in rejecting authoritarianism. The claimed 7 million participants in October 2025 brings the protest closer to that 3.5% threshold but falls short of the 11 to 12 million target. The October event involved between 1.9% to 2.5% of the US population.
Highway bridge
Considering the purpose and desired outcome of the gathering, the image above shows a small group of participants who decided to split off from the main event. A nearby foot bridge over a busy highway provided a useful opportunity to reach out to the many cars passing below. It was seen as a good impact multiplier and perhaps assists in reaching the 3.5% threshold.