About a thousand Iowa City community members flooded Iowa Avenue and the University of Iowa Pentacrest on March 28 to protest against the Trump administration, calling for “No Kings” in a movement with the rest of the county. 

Indivisible, a national nonprofit coalition of political action groups, was one of the groups sponsoring the event. There were over 3,000 rallies happening Saturday across the U.S. in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., gathering over 7 million Americans, according to the “No Kings” website. 

The first “No Kings” protest was held in June 2025, and demonstrations occurred during President Donald Trump’s birthday parade. Four months later, in October 2025, a second nationwide protest was held. Saturday’s protests were the third nationwide “No Kings” protests.

Finch VanDyk, an organizer with Indivisible Johnson County, said it’s important for people to show up to protests and stand up against the Trump Administration.

“It shows that this many people are upset with the regime,” they said. “It builds solidarity and it’s important to see other people who are willing to come out and stand for this.” 

The Johnson County Democrats set up a tent on Iowa Avenue to encourage younger voters and community members to register to vote. 

Ed Cranston, chair of the Johnson County Democrats, said the organization has been actively registering voters and recruiting volunteers while canvassing year-round to better understand community concerns. 

He said volunteers have knocked on thousands of doors in Johnson County, contributing to Democratic gains in recent special elections across Iowa which broke the Republican’s supermajority where they held two-thirds of the seats in the House and Senate. 

Cranston said it’s important for younger generations and college students to be involved in rallies because they have a big voice in issues including gun violence and women’s rights. 

“They’re the ones that will be affected mostly, so it’s important for them to step up and really show what issues there are,” he said. 

Escucha Mi Voz, the Prairielands Freedom Fund, and the Immigration Welcome Network of Johnson County spoke at the event against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and in solidarity with immigrants. 

Almost three months after Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis, their deaths continue to fuel protests as advocates call for accountability and an end to aggressive immigration enforcement. 

Ninoska Campos, Escucha Mi Voz member and organizer, said immigrants and activist groups across the Midwest are organizing in response to increased enforcement and detention. 

“From Minneapolis to Iowa, we see everyone organizing, coming together, and fighting for change,” she said via a translator. “We are pushing ICE out of our streets and out of our community.”

Elizabeth Rook Panicucci, co-director of Prairielands Freedom Fund, an Iowa City nonprofit that pays immigration bonds and pretrial bail to free people from detention, spoke at the protest. She said immigrants across the country are often detained during routine traffic stops, which can quickly escalate into deportation proceedings. 

“It does not matter the intention of the local officer, the intention of the sheriff, nor the stance of the community to be a sanctuary community. Any exposure to local authorities puts immigrants in our community at risk,” Panicucci said. “That’s the start of the deportation machine.” 

Mazahir Salih, executive director of the Immigrant Welcome Network of Johnson County, an immigrant-led nonprofit, and Iowa City City Council member, spoke to protesters about the importance of creating accessible systems that help welcome immigrants into the community. 

“What we are seeing in our community is not a failure of people, but a failure of the system,” she said. “We need systems that are built within the people, that are meant to stand around them and not without them.”

Speakers also opposed the war in Iran and said the cost of the war is money the U.S. could be spending elsewhere. The war in Iran began on Feb. 28 and has cost the U.S. $11.3 billion, according to The New York Times.

Tiffin Democrat Travis Terrell, who is running for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, said he is frustrated with the lack of affordable health care and the war in Iran, calling for a shift in priorities.

“Our money is going to bombs that are destroying hospitals and schools in other countries, while our hospitals here are closing,” Terrell said. “It’s about time we stop funding war and genocide, and start paying nurses and teachers.”

According to The Commonwealth Fund, nearly 200 rural hospitals have closed since 2005 and over 400 more are at risk of closing nationwide. 

The protest also gathered many students from the University of Iowa who carried signs and showed their support for the movement by marching on the Pentacrest.

Katy Gates was at the rally as a volunteer with Voters of Tomorrow, a national organization trying to get younger generations engaged with politics. 

Gates said with federal proposals to cut public education funding, students at the UI face many challenges and they should not be afraid to stand up to national and state leaders.

According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, public education is at risk of being cut by nearly 16 percent and losing billions in school aid.

“It’s our future,” she said. “It’s our lives that are at stake. We need to get off the sidelines and do what we can to shape the future we want.” 

Jaxon Morris, a third-year UI student, said he is protesting to promote love and unity in contrast to the divisive political climate in the country. 

“I feel like love just is not a priority in our country,” he said. “It is so easy to look at people around us and see our differences, instead of accepting each other for who they are.”

Morris said he was angry and frustrated with existing policies about gender, including Iowa bills signed into law like Senate File 579 which bars local governments from offering civil rights protections to groups not protected under state law, which includes the transgender community. 

“Our president likes to separate us, we are a nation divided by discriminatory actions,” he said. 

Gwen Ellis, a second-year UI student, wrote “History is repeating itself” on her sign. She said she thinks it’s important for college students to show up because it impacts them in their daily lives. 

Simran Sharma, a second-year UI student, was holding a sign that said, “We the people have no kings.” 

“That’s what we escaped from hundreds of years ago when the revolution happened,” she said. “But we kind of have a king now.” 

Cadence Quick, a second-year UI student and an elementary education major, said she is here to fight for her future students who may not have a voice.

“I want a better America for the younger generation,” Quick said. “We need everyone to come together and fight for unity in our country.”