Days after cities across the nation held protests decrying the Trump administration, local leaders look to advance the momentum beyond one day of protest.
More than 2,600 protests took place in all 50 states, including Washington, D.C., and Iowa City, in a day of protests known as “No Kings.”
Finch VanDyk, an organizer with Indivisible Johnson County — the local branch of Indivisible, a national nonprofit coalition of political action groups that was one of many organizations that put together “No Kings” — said it is imperative to extend efforts outside of just one day of dissent.
“The nation is tired of [the Trump administration], and they’re willing to get out in the streets and do it, and they’re willing to do it peacefully, which is huge, because the regime doesn’t know how to fight back against peace,” VanDyk said.
Many major cities reported zero arrests and Iowa City had no incidents or arrests. VanDyk said the peacefulness of “No Kings” shows the protests are a “temperature check on the nation,” and exemplifies how upset people are with the Trump administration.
VanDyk said the movement will use the energy built from the protests and channel it on the local level by continuing to host meetings, pop up protests, and providing signs to local businesses.
“We are focusing on what are the pillars in Johnson County that hold fascism up, and how can we erode those here, where we are,” VanDyk said.
The Daily Iowan was on the ground at protests in Iowa City and Washington, D.C.
Millions of people marched in cities across the U.S., expressing discontent with President Donald Trump. Over 7 million people participated in the nationwide protest, according to the “No Kings” website.
The national protest was the second “No Kings” demonstration, the first was held on June 14.
RELATED: Photos: No Kings Protest and March in Iowa City
The protests follow the government shutdown, immigration raids, and Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard in cities across the country, including Washington, D.C.
Thousands of Iowa City community members and University of Iowa students denounced Trump’s actions and policies. Protesters sang, chanted “No ICE, no kings,” and gave speeches on the Pentacrest before marching downtown.
Wearing her dad’s World War II army jacket, Iowa Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, told the crowd it is “American as apple pie to stand up to would-be dictators and kings.”
There were roughly 50 ‘No Kings’ protests across Iowa Saturday, Weiner said.
“In towns large and small, red and blue, because we are all American and we all appreciate our freedoms,” she said.
Weiner led the crowd in singing “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie.
Iowa Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, pointed to the public detainment of Iowa City resident Jorge Elieser González Ochoa as the beginnings of an attack on democracy.
González Ochoa was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Sept. 25 in Bread Garden Market in downtown Iowa City.
Zabner also said Trump’s higher education compact is an attack on academic freedom. The compact requires schools to freeze tuition for five years, alter admissions processes for international students, and conduct an annual poll of campus communities on their compliance with the compact.
“These actions are designed to make Trump seem all powerful,” Zabner said. “They’re designed to make us feel scared. They’re designed to tell a story where no one can stop Donald Trump. There is another story. ”
Following more speeches from local leaders, protesters marched through downtown Iowa City.
Rather than a protest, John Macatee, a retired physician in Iowa City, described “No Kings” as a day to “celebrate being an American”and exercise free speech.
“We do not need a king,” Macatee said. “The Trump regime is trampling our human rights, our rights as U.S. citizens, and causing mayhem and suffering for not only the U.S. but the world.”
He opposes Trump’s decision to cut off foreign aid, immigration raids, and cuts to funding for the National Institute of Health.
“I hope more people stand up, speak out and express their rights as American citizens — democracy dies in darkness,” he said. “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
“No Kings” in Washington, D.C.
Marching on the National Mall, hundreds of thousands of protesters filled Pennsylvania Avenue near the U.S. Capitol, many holding signs reading “No Kings, no fascists, no billionaires.”
Kourtney Thompson, 23, of Maryland, said the national reach of the “No Kings” movement shows how upset people are with the current administration.
“Everything that’s happening is going directly against what I’ve been learning about,” the law student said. “I do not support this presidency at all. This isn’t democracy anymore.”
Upward of 200 national organizations and thousands of local advocacy groups make up the coalition behind “No Kings.” In Washington, D.C., the day of protests started with smaller demonstrations held earlier in the morning around the city.
Roughly 1,000 protesters gathered outside the Franklin D. Reeves Municipal Center Saturday morning. With traffic closed off, attendees streamed onto the streets. Dubbed “Remove the Regime,” the protest drew in people from around the country.
Elyse DeGroot and Bob McGowan, of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, hopped on a 6 a.m. flight to participate in Saturday’s protests in the nation’s capital.
DeGroot pointed to the ice sculpture of the word “democracy” appearing on the National Mall on Oct. 15 as a symbol of how she feels about the current administration.
“It’s melting, and it’s disappearing, and that’s how I feel,” she said. “We are feeling like democracy is disappearing.”
McGowan works as a physician and said the Trump administration is “undercutting everything about health care in this country, systematically taking apart what has taken decades to build.”
Nadine Seiler ventured 45 minutes from Waldorf, Maryland, to express her discontent with the current administration. Disappointed with the turnout of over 1,000 people, Seiler said the U.S. isn’t reacting with the “necessary gravity” to the Trump administration.
Seiler is no stranger to protest. She traveled to the Republican National Convention in July 2024 to protest the GOP’s nomination of Trump for president.
“I have tried my best to warn people what’s happening, and if they continue with this tepid, flaccid participation, this country is going to be taken over by fascists,” Seiler said.
Donna Glann-Smyth traveled from her home state of Florida to join in the protest. As a veteran, she said Trump’s use of the military is destroying the U.S.’s reputation.
“He’s controlling the military that I was in,” she said. “I don’t even know what’s going on. I feel like I’m insane, or the whole world is insane.”
She served for nine years, along with her husband, father, and son. She said Trump has “no idea what to do with power except hurt people.”
With “Immigrants Make America Great” printed on her shirt, 26-year-old Franchezka Mendoza, of Baltimore, Maryland, attended Saturday morning’s protest for her family. She said Latinos are being unfairly criminalized and targeted by the Trump administration.
As of mid-September, over 58,000 adults have been detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, according to data from the agency. Trump promised to enact the largest mass deportation effort in history during his bid for a second term.
“I’m here on behalf of my grandfather, my grandma, all my family members who are scared to be here,” she said. “I’m a citizen, and I’m going to use my right, and I’m going to speak for the people whose voices are being hushed.”
Rolling out a massive banner of the U.S. Constitution onto the street, the group marched from the municipal center to the larger protest near the National Mall.
Holding signs, banging buckets, and yelling chants such as “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA,” the crowd walked over a mile.
Afternoon protest on the National Mall
Saturday’s nationwide “No Kings” demonstrations were estimated to be the second largest single-day protest in U.S. history. Backdropped by the U.S. Capitol building, the massive protest thrummed with overlapping chants, music, and speakers on a mainstage.
The enormous crowd flooded Pennsylvania Avenue, many wearing yellow, a color chosen by “No Kings” to represent the movement.
Locals at the protest denounced the deployment of the National Guard in their city. Trump issued an executive order on Aug. 11 directing over 2,000 National Guard members from D.C. and other states to mobilize in the nation’s capital.
Wearing a bright yellow bandana with a crossed-out crown wrapped around her head and a “Free D.C.” T-shirt, local Sharon O’Donnell said U.S. police and military are being “misused, abused, and mistreated.”
“The fact that our nation now hates these organizations brings tears to my eyes,” she said.
Maggie Maloney, of Washington, D.C., said the National Guard doesn’t want to be in the city any more than residents want them there.
“Taxpayer money should not be used to fund the deployment of the National Guard,” Maloney said.
In 2020, Trump deployed more than 5,000 National Guard personnel in the nation’s capital during the George Floyd protests, and U.S. officials told Reuters the deployment cost roughly $530 per guard member per day.
“There’s no reason,” Maloney said. “D.C. was fine before them. We’ll be fine when they leave.”
Piper Goodrich contributed to this report.
