Thousands of Milwaukee residents of all ages joined hundreds of peaceful demonstrations nationwide on October 18 for the “No Kings” 2.0 march, combining millions of voices in protest against Donald Trump’s authoritarian power grabs and blatant sabotage of American democracy.
More than 15,000 demonstrators were estimated to participate in the nonpartisan event downtown. Milwaukee Police said there were no arrests or significant disruptions as the crowd moved along a two-mile route through the city center.
Smaller satellite rallies took place in Waukesha and Shorewood, drawing several thousand participants each. Local speakers, including veterans and community organizers, linked their calls for accountability to Wisconsin’s long history of civic protest, from labor marches to anti-war demonstrations.
Many participants said they viewed their involvement as both a patriotic duty and a continuation of Milwaukee’s tradition of defending democratic values. People carried signs with slogans such as “Nothing is more patriotic than protesting” or “Resist Fascism,” as they packed marches from Cathedral Square Park downtown to New York City’s Times Square.
Rallies were held in parks across the United States in cities like Boston, Atlanta, and Chicago. Demonstrators marched through Washington and downtown Los Angeles and picketed outside capitols in several Republican-led states, a courthouse in Billings, Montana, and at hundreds of smaller public spaces.
Trump’s Republican Party, which effectively functions as his cult of personality, falsely disparaged the demonstrations as “Hate America” rallies.
But in many places, the events looked more like a street party with no arrests reported. There were marching bands, a huge banner with the U.S. Constitution’s “We the People” preamble that participants could sign, and demonstrators wearing inflatable costumes, particularly frogs, which have emerged as a sign of resistance in Portland, Oregon.
It was the third mass mobilization since Trump’s second occupation of the White House, and came against the backdrop of a government shutdown. Not only has the Republican dysfunction closed federal programs and services, but it is testing the core balance of power, as an aggressive autocratic executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that protest organizers say has followed Project 2025. That authoritarian plan outlined how Trump would end American democracy and take over the federal government.
In Washington, Iraq War Marine veteran Shawn Howard said he had never participated in a protest before but was motivated to show up because of what he sees as the Trump administration’s “disregard for the law.” He said immigration detentions without due process and deployments of troops in U.S. cities are “un-American” and alarming signs of eroding democracy.
“I fought for freedom and against this kind of extremism abroad,” said Howard, who added that he also worked at the CIA for 20 years on counter-extremism operations. “And now I see a moment in America where we have extremists everywhere who are, in my opinion, pushing us to some kind of civil conflict.”
Trump, meanwhile, was spending the day at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
“They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” the convicted felon said in a Fox News interview that aired early October 17, before he departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. fundraiser at his club.
In San Francisco, hundreds of people spelled out “No King!” and other phrases with their bodies on Ocean Beach. Hayley Wingard, who was dressed as the Statue of Liberty, said she too had never been to a protest before. Only recently has she begun to view Trump as a “dictator.”
“I was actually OK with everything until I found that the military invasion in Los Angeles and Chicago, and Portland — Portland bothered me the most, because I’m from Portland, and I don’t want the military in my cities. That’s scary,” Wingard said.
Salt Lake City demonstrators gathered outside the Utah State Capitol to share messages of hope and healing after a protester was fatally shot during the city’s first “No Kings” march in June.
And more than 1,500 people gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, evoking the city’s history of protests and the critical role it played in the Civil Rights Movement two generations ago.
“It just feels like we’re living in an America that I don’t recognize,” said Jessica Yother, a mother of four. She and other protesters said they felt camaraderie by gathering in a state where Trump won nearly 65% of the vote last November.
“It was so encouraging,” Yother said. “I walked in and thought, ‘Here are my people.'”
While protests earlier this year — against Elon Musk’s cuts and Trump’s military parade — drew crowds, organizers say this one is uniting the opposition. Top Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders are joining what organizers view as an antidote to Trump’s actions, from the administration’s clampdown on free speech to its military-style immigration raids.
“Big rallies like this give confidence to people who have been sitting on the sidelines but are ready to speak up,” said Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Murphy.
More than 2,600 rallies were planned for October 18, organizers said. The national march against Trump and Musk this spring had 1,300 registered locations, while the first “No Kings” day in June registered 2,100.
“We’re here because we love America,” Sanders said, addressing the crowd from a stage in Washington. He said the American experiment is “in danger” under Trump but insisted, “We the people will rule.”
Republicans sought to portray protesters as far outside the mainstream and a prime reason for the government shutdown, now in its 19th day.
From the White House to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders called them “communists” and “Marxists.” They said Democratic leaders, including Schumer, were beholden to the far-left flank and willing to keep the government shut to appease those liberal forces.
“I encourage you to watch — we call it the ‘Hate America’ rally — that will happen,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
“Let’s see who shows up for that,” Johnson said, listing fictitious groups including “antifa types,” that he said were supported by people who “hate capitalism” and “embraced Marxists.”
Many demonstrators, in response, said they were meeting such hyperbole with humor, noting that Trump often leans heavily on theatrics such as claiming that cities he sends troops to are war zones.
“So much of what we’ve seen from this administration has been so unserious and silly that we have to respond with the same energy,” said Glen Kalbaugh, a Washington protester who wore a wizard hat and held a sign with a frog on it.
