No Kings day of action held nationwide on day of Army parade
Event Reviewed Automatically reviewed for factual accuracy, tone, and neutrality. Review does not check claims against cited sources. Last reviewed 18 October 2026.A coalition of more than 200 organizations held No Kings demonstrations at more than 2,000 U.S. locations on the day of the Army's 250th-anniversary parade in Washington. Researchers estimated 2 to 4.8 million participants.
Coordinated protests at more than 2,000 locations draw an estimated 2 to 4.8 million participants.
The day of action was scheduled to coincide with a military parade in Washington marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, held on Flag Day and on Donald Trump’s 79th birthday. Organizers held no event in Washington and made Philadelphia the flagship, describing the aim as a contrast with what they called a “costly, wasteful, and un-American birthday parade.” Police said tens of thousands marched in Philadelphia. The coalition behind the day numbered more than 200 organizations, among them Indivisible, MoveOn, the ACLU and several labor unions, with the 50501 network among the organizers. Asked about the protests beforehand, Trump said: “I don’t feel like a king.”
Organizers reported more than 5 million participants. The Crowd Counting Consortium, a Harvard Kennedy School and University of Connecticut project that compiles reported protest events, later estimated between 2 and 4.8 million people across more than 2,150 actions, and its researchers described the day as probably the second-largest single-day demonstration since 2017. Crowd figures could not be confirmed at 18% of events, mostly in small towns.
The day began with the shootings of Minnesota state legislators Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman and their spouses, in which the Hortmans were killed and the Hoffmans wounded. Officials urged people to stay away from gatherings, organizers called for Minnesota events to be cancelled, and authorities said that day that the suspect had No Kings flyers in his car; a rally was held at the State Capitol in St. Paul. Elsewhere, more than 99.5% of reported events had no injuries or property damage, according to the consortium. In Salt Lake City a person was killed when an armed volunteer fired at an armed man, and in Culpeper, Virginia, police arrested a driver who accelerated into a dispersing crowd.
A second No Kings day followed on October 18, 2025.
Sources
- 01.
NPR. Anti-Trump No Kings protests flood American streets ahead of military parade. (2025). Same-day report. Source for the coalition of more than 200 organizations including MoveOn, the ACLU, the American Federation of Teachers and the Communications Workers of America; Indivisible as a No Kings coordinator; more than 2,000 planned protests; the organizers' claim of more than 5 million participants; Philadelphia as the flagship and the decision to hold no event in Washington; the parade marking the Army's 250th anniversary on Flag Day and Trump's 79th birthday; Trump's remark 'I don't feel like a king'; the Minnesota cancellation call and the Capitol rally; and the Culpeper, Virginia, vehicle arrest.
- 02.
Associated Press, via PBS NewsHour. Protesters gather across the U.S. at nationwide anti-Trump 'No Kings' rallies. (2025). Same-day AP report. Source for the 50501 network orchestrating the protests, nearly 2,000 locations, and authorities' statement that the suspect in the Minnesota legislator shootings had No Kings flyers in his car.
- 03.
Chenoweth, E., Hammam, S., Pressman, J., & Shay, C. W. (2025). New data shows No Kings was one of the largest days of protest in US history. Waging Nonviolence. Published 12 August 2025 by the researchers who run the Crowd Counting Consortium. Source for the estimate of 2 to 4.8 million participants across more than 2,150 actions; the description of the day as probably the second-largest single-day demonstration since 2017; crowd figures unconfirmed at 18% of events; more than 99.5% of reported events without injuries or property damage; and the fatal shooting of a marcher in Salt Lake City. The authors interpret the turnout as evidence of a durable movement; only their figures are used here.
- 04.
Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School. Crowd Counting Consortium. Program page stating that the No Kings protests of June and October 2025 were among the largest single-day demonstrations in US history.
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