June 2025 No Kings protests
The June 2025 No Kings protests, also known internationally as the No Dictators or No Tyrants protests, were a series of political demonstrations, largely in the United States, against what the organizers describe as authoritarian policies of President Donald Trump and corruption in his administration. Protests took place on June14, 2025, on the same day as the U.S. Army 250th Anniversary Parade and Trump's 79th birthday. Further No Kings protests took place on October 18, 2025.
Organizers estimated that more than five million people participated in more than 2,100 cities and towns, including the flagship event in Philadelphia. More protests took place in the U.S. territories of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands, and in 20 foreign countries, including Canada, Japan, Mexico, and in Europe. In countries with constitutional monarchies such as Canada and the United Kingdom, the alternate "Dictators" or "Tyrants" titles were favored over "Kings" to avoid confusion with anti-monarchic movements; Hawaii did the same to avoid confusion with a King Kamehameha Day parade held on the same day.
Background
The No Kings protests were organized by Indivisible and other progressive organizations as part of a coalition of more than 200 groups, including 50501, the Third Act Movement, American Federation of Teachers, Social Security Works, Communications Workers of America, American Civil Liberties Union, Public Citizen and MoveOn. The event aimed to protest the policies and actions of the Donald Trump administration, including his purported fascist tendencies and associated democratic backsliding in the United States. Its name and theme reflect Trump's own contention that he is a "king" and several posts by his administration that depict him as a monarch.Indivisible's Ezra Levin told MSNBC,
The June 14 demonstrations built on previous nationwide "No Kings" protests, notably the nationwide "No Kings on Presidents' Day" event on February 17, and others on April 19. They also followed other protests of Trump and his second-term policies, involving dozens of smaller protests against his mass-deportation efforts – including a weeks-long series of protests in Los Angeles, to which the president had responded by deploying the California National Guard and the U.S. Marine Corps.
The date of the No Kings protest was chosen to coincide with the U.S. Army 250th Anniversary Parade, which was also Trump's 79th birthday, and which critics argued politicized the military and mimicked displays typically seen in authoritarian regimes. No official No Kings protests were held in Washington, D.C., where the Army parade took place, "to keep the focus on contrast, and not give the Trump administration an opportunity to stoke and then put the focus on conflict", said Indivisible's Leah Greenberg.
Trump publicly opposed the demonstrations. "I don't feel like a king", he said, adding a threat to people who protest at the parade in DC: "For those people that want to protest, they're going to be met with very big force."
Indivisible Abroad, the collective of recognized Indivisible international chapters for Americans abroad, primarily led international organizing for No Kings / No Tyrants events around the world. Democrats Abroad also organized solidarity protests internationally in response to the national day of action called for by the No Kings organizers.
Because many countries have monarchs as heads of state, some events were labeled as "No Tyrants" demonstrations instead, to keep focus of protests on the Trump Administration, with the message of "We reject authoritarianism. We reject fear. We reject tyrants."
Turnout
Organizers estimated that more than five million people participated in more than 2,100 cities and towns across the country, according to statements by No Kings and the American Civil Liberties Union, a co-sponsor of the protests. Politico estimated turnout in the millions and described them as the largest coordinated protests since the start of the second Trump administration.A crowdsourcing effort to tally participation was led by data journalist G. Elliott Morris, who wrote on June 15 that "back-of-the-envelope math" put total attendance "somewhere in the 4–6 million people range. That means roughly 1.2–1.8% of the U.S. population attended a No Kings Day event somewhere in the country yesterday." According to The Guardian, one estimate suggests that this was among the biggest ever single-day protests in US history.
The protests demonstrated how social media can play a crucial role in political and civic mobilization. According to The Washington Post, much of the coordination took place on platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and X, with users using the hashtag #NoKingsDay to post rally locations, short educational messages about civil rights, and strategies for nonviolent resistance. A TechCrunch report also confirms that TikTok's video algorithms drove millions of views to relevant posts, enabling spontaneous and decentralized organizing.
Protests by U.S. state
Alabama
In Mobile, where organizers reported receiving threats ahead of the rally, an estimated crowd of 2,000 people gathered. At least 400 gathered in Montgomery across from the State Capitol. Several hundred attended the No Kings rally in Tuscaloosa outside the Richard Shelby Federal Building and Courthouse. Other demonstrations took place in Birmingham, Huntsville, Florence, Scottsboro, Fort Payne, Guntersville, and Athens.Alaska
Thousands attended the No Kings demonstration in downtown Anchorage; about 2,000 rallied outside Pioneer Park in Fairbanks, about 600 people protested in Homer, and about 300 protested in Sitka. There were also 14 other demonstrations elsewhere in the state.Arizona
Thousands of people protested at more than 40 events. Organizers estimated that 20,000 people rallied at the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza outside the State Capitol in Phoenix. Thousands rallied in Tucson, and more than 3,000 in Flagstaff.Arkansas
Multiple protests were planned. Some 5,000 participated in Fayetteville and over 8,000 gathered in Little Rock.California
Southern California
An event in Los Angeles drew over 200,000 protesters, and numerous other protests were held across Los Angeles County as part of the movement. Thousands rallied at Long Beach. In Ventura County, more than 12,000 gathered, including 5,500 people in Ventura, 3,000 in Thousand Oaks, 2,000 in Simi Valley, and 1,500 in Ojai. Other demonstrations took place in Beverly Hills, Torrance, and Pasadena.About 60,000 people protested at the San Diego demonstration.
In Orange County, thousands attended the No Kings rally at Huntington Beach Pier, while thousands more rallied elsewhere in the county, including Anaheim, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, and Dana Point.
Other rallies took place in Santa Barbara, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and Santa Monica.
Ahead of the rally in Los Angeles, about 200 Marines were on standby for security duties.
Central Valley, Central Coast, and Central California
More than 5,000 rallied in Sacramento. Elsewhere in the Sacramento Valley and Central Valley, more than 4,000 rallied in Roseville. Lakeport saw 1,000 demonstrators.Other rallies occurred in Fresno, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo.
Northern California
Across the San Francisco Bay Area, more than 140,000 protesters attended No Kings protests. Close to 50,000 people protested in San Francisco. In the East Bay, turnout was estimated at over 10,000 in Oakland and about 10,000 in Berkeley, where demonstrators gathered at downtown's Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. In the North Bay, thousands rallied in Santa Rosa, thousands in Marin County, a few thousand in Petaluma, and more than 500 in Sebastopol. In the South Bay, more than 12,000 attended the rally at San Jose. Along a seven-mile stretch of El Camino Real, thousands lined the sidewalks from Palo Alto to Mountain View.In Yolo County, thousands marched in downtown Woodland. A speaker at the Napa rally estimated attendance at 3,000.
In San Francisco, at least four protesters were struck by a motorist who then fled the scene.