On Saturday, October 18, cities across the country will witness a second wave of “No Kings” protests as millions of Americans continue to voice their opposition to what they view as increasingly authoritarian actions by the Trump administration. The coordinated grassroots effort is expected to have an even greater turnout than the initial No Kings protests from June, which together represented one of the largest nationwide protests in American history.
According to the movement’s organizers, over 2,500 events are planned across the U.S., Europe and Canada for Saturday. Several cities and localities in Alabama are set to participate, including Florence, Huntsville, Guntersville, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Oxford, Selma, Montgomery, Dadeville, Auburn, Phenix City, Andalusia, Dothan, Mobile and Baldwin County.
The demonstrations will likely come amidst an ongoing government shutdown, as Democrats continue to pressure the Republican administration to restore vital healthcare funding including the extension of Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits. It is expected that around 130,000 Alabamians will lose their health insurance while the cost of marketplace premiums will nearly double if Republicans do not reverse those cuts.
In general, the No Kings protests aim to politically activate average Americans to fight against what they view as a government sliding further away from democracy and into authoritarianism.
“If you are cynical, you might not understand the utility of simply standing together and showing the massive agreement in this moment around our disdain for a president who believes he is a king,” Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the nonprofit Public Citizen and one of the rally’s organizers, recently told The American Prospect.
“We’ve seen in other countries in the world that the thing that enabled people to fight back was an activated populace,” Gilbert added. “That’s what we’re trying to achieve here, just this groundswell of activation.”
The organizers have also stressed that their movement is dedicated to protesting the administration peacefully through nonviolent action, despite recent smears from Republican leaders who have described the upcoming protests as “terrorists” participating in a “hate-America rally.”
“A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action,” reads a disclaimer on the No Kings website. “We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.”
The original No Kings protests in June were also overwhelmingly peaceful, even as an estimated 5 million people participated across over 2,100 cities and towns.
“Our peaceful movement is only getting bigger and bigger,” the organizers state on the No Kings website. “‘NO KINGS’ is more than just a slogan; it is the foundation our nation was built upon. Born in the streets, shouted by millions, carried on posters and chants, it echoes from city blocks to rural town squares, uniting people across this country to fight dictatorship together.”
“Because this country does not belong to kings, dictators, or tyrants. It belongs to We the People – the people who care, who show up, and the ones who fight for dignity, a life we can afford, and real opportunity,” they add. “No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings.”
