“No Kings” 2.0 marks historic protest, thousands march through downtown Seattle

On Oct. 19, historic numbers of protesters gathered in small towns and city centers across the country for “No Kings” rallies, reaching an estimated seven million participants nationwide. In Seattle, about 70,000 people marched a mile through downtown, from the Seattle Center to Pike Place Market. 

The movement represents a broad coalition opposing President Trump’s deployment of National Guard to U.S. cities, use of the Justice Department for political purposes, cuts to federal services, civil rights violations, discrimination against transgender people, gerrymandering, reproductive rights restrictions, and support for Israel’s war in Gaza— as well as his recent suggestion that he might seek a third term.

With a wide range of concerns linked to “No Kings”, a diverse mix of organizations joined the protest, advocating for issues across the political spectrum.

“In our local ‘No Kings’ Seattle coalition, we have been making an effort to reach out more widely to labor, and that has definitely grown our coalition over the past few months,” said Tyna Ek of Seattle Indivisible.

Among the labor groups present Saturday was UNITE HERE Local 8, which represents hospitality and service workers. The Union said, “In this moment of political crisis, we have to dig deep, rise up, and protect each other. Workers over billionaires, always.”

Before marching down Fifth Avenue, protesters gathered on Seattle Center’s Fountain Lawn, energized by a lineup of speakers. Among them was Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who condemned Trump’s “attempt to destroy our republic, designed to take over control of our government so that it answers only to the king and not to us—the people— to divide us so that he can take our power and turn it into his power and reward.”

With that, the march began.

Filling the streets, chants rang through downtown. “Fascists fear solidarity!” protesters shouted on  Fifth Avenue and Wall Street.

Farther down the road, an assembly led by Charles Douglas, the bullhorn-wielding Executive Director of voting rights group Common Power, could be seen advocating for civic engagement. 

“Folks who are just now realizing that they’ve got to physically contribute to pushing back against fascism, like a big march, is a good way to get introduced,” Douglas said, “This is a necessity, and also it can’t be just this. People also have to organize locally where they live. They’ve got to keep doing it, and not just do it for these big ones.”

As bubbles floated through the air, a jubilant energy permeated the crowd, contrasting the sober issues moving people to action. One contributor to that atmosphere was Alexis Anita Juarez, a local student who brought music to the march. “I feel, personally, speaking with words always kind of pushes people away,” he said. “When they listen to music, it provides a sense of comfort.” 

In addition to music and chants, the crowd was filled with a colorful array of costumed protestors—“Lice” agents, tacos, axolotls, unicorns, and Kenny from “South Park.”

 “We are peaceful protestors,” explained a group of inflatable sharks, “We don’t want ICE to see us as harmful. We’re just being peaceful and silly.”

While high-level Republican lawmakers criticized and mocked the nationwide march—Trump’s AI-generated social media video depicting him dumping feces on protestors from a jet labelled “King Trump”—organizers pushed back against those negative portrayals. 

As “No Kings” organizer Tyna Ek put it, “You have to really love your country deeply to work so hard to make it better. We organizers are volunteers, spending a lot of time in addition to our regular jobs because we believe so strongly that our country needs the people to stand up at this moment in history.”