What to know
• A day of protest: More than 3,100 “No Kings” demonstrations are planned across the United States today, with some of the major rallies now underway. Organizers say attendees are gathering to protest President Donald Trump’s policies, the higher cost of living and the war with Iran.
• Widespread events: Rallies are being held in major cities, suburbs and small towns in red and blue states alike, from Alabama to Wyoming and even the Arctic Circle. Protesters also held events abroad today in Italy, France, Germany and Spain.
• Third round: Last year, millions of people attended largely peaceful protests on two “No Kings” days. Since then, Trump’s nationwide immigration enforcement blitz has come and gone in several major cities. Now, Americans are facing skyrocketing gas prices and a flagging economy due to the war.
Principles of US democracy "are being tested," New York attorney general says
New York Attorney General Letitia James said she and thousands of others set to participate in “No Kings” protests across the country today are fighting to protect democracy.
“We are a nation built on the rule of law, on checks and balances, and on the fundamental idea that power belongs to the people,” she said at a news conference today. “Right now, those principles are being tested.”
James, who has been in the crosshairs of President Donald Trump after bringing a civil fraud case against the president and the Trump Organization in 2022, said the “democracy is a project” that is defended by generations of Americans.
She said her job is to defend the Constitution and that she won’t back down.
Producer and TV host Padma Lakshmi spoke out at the news conference against the Trump administration’s immigration actions in cities and said it is not representative of the American dream she believes in.
"No tyrants": Protesters in Madrid say Trump doesn't care about the world
In Spain, people took to the historic streets to protest United States President Donald Trump ahead of a day of demonstrations across America.
Another woman, wearing a Democrats Abroad shirt, told the news outlet that the protesters want to get across a message: “No tyrants, the power belongs to the people.”
See the scene in Madrid:
Democrat who flipped Mar-a-Lago district attends "No Kings" protest near the estate
Democrat Emily Gregory — who made headlines for flipping a state House seat in a Palm Beach district that includes President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club — is taking part in the “No Kings” rally in her district near the estate.
Gregory singled out affordability, a key issue she ran her campaign on, as a motivator for protesters.
“The number one thing I heard talking to voters was, you know, kitchen-table issues,” Gregory said. “But second to that, we did hear a real fear of democracy in crisis, so I’m thrilled to be here and in support of the ‘No Kings’ rally and just democracy at large.”
Gregory’s win comes after Democrats last fall flipped more than 20 state legislative seats in special or regularly scheduled elections.
"No Kings" movement spreads to Europe
Crowds of people in Italy, France, Germany and Spain are demonstrating against US President Donald Trump. It comes on a day thousands of “No Kings” protests are planned in the United States.
Here’s what it looked like:
Springsteen expected to perform at Minnesota "No Kings" rally today
Legendary songwriter and musician Bruce Springsteen told the Minnesota Star-Tribune that he will perform his protest anthem “Streets of Minneapolis” at the flagship “No Kings” event today.
The rally is expected to kick off this afternoon at the Minnesota State Capitol.
Springsteen’s song was released earlier this year in protest of federal immigration operations in Minneapolis.
Springsteen dedicated the song to the city’s residents and in Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s memory.
What "No Kings" protesters told CNN at past events
We spoke with attendees at “No Kings” demonstrations in June and October last year, where protesters from all walks of life shared grievances ranging from health care costs to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and his expansion of executive power.
Here’s what some attendees had to say at the June event:
Here's where some of the protests are happening today
Thousands of “No Kings” protests are happening today across the country, both in urban centers and rural areas.
Here’s a look at where some of them will be:
- Minneapolis
- Boston
- Washington, DC
- New York City
- Los Angeles
- Atlanta
- Chicago
- Seattle
- Seward, Alaska
- East Glacier Park, Montana
- Waverly, Iowa
- Washington, North Carolina
- Millersburg, Ohio
- Gloucester, Virginia
- Black River Falls, Wisconsin
What Trump has said about the protests
In the past, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have responded with mockery to the “No Kings” events.
Last fall, they both posted AI memes to social media depicting Trump in a crown. Trump shared a mocked-up vision of himself flying a fighter jet emblazoned with “KING TRUMP” appearing to dump raw sewage on protesters. In Vance’s social media post, prominent Democrats knelt as supplicants in a royal court before Trump.
The president also called October’s mass protests a “joke” and described them as “very small, very ineffective.” The people who took part were “whacked out,” Trump said.
“When you look at those people, those are not representative of the people of our country,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One the day after.
When asked about today’s “No Kings” events, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said on Thursday, “The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them.”
But organizers remain undeterred. “Each time we show up, we disrupt President Trump’s attempts to rule through repression and remind the country, and the world, that people power is our path to a truly free America,” the “No Kings” website says.
“It is not just some abstract protest. It is a movement that has seen numbers across racial lines and economic lines,” civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton said at a Thursday news conference. “We may not all agree on some issues, but we all agree that if we do not protect the right to vote and protect democracy, it doesn’t matter where we disagree, we will all be muted and ineffective.”
A suburban show of support is expected at today's rallies
Two-thirds of the people who have RSVPed for today’s event live outside of major urban centers, up nearly 40% compared with the first “No Kings” event in June 2025, statistics provided by the organizers show.
Racial diversity and rising educational levels have resulted in the political axis shifting in many suburban communities.
Red states and battlegrounds: “No Kings” organizers also said a significant number of protests are planned in GOP strongholds like Texas and Florida.
The No Kings Coalition organizes the demonstrations and includes organizations like 50501, Indivisible, AFT, MoveOn, the ACLU, Public Citizen and SEIU, among others.
Texas, Florida and Ohio each have over 100 events scheduled today, and states like Idaho, Wyoming and Utah have events in the double digits, according to the event organizers.
Meanwhile, on the Article Circle: One of the most far-flung demonstrations will be held today in the Alaskan community of Kotzebue.
Here are some of the key issues animating today's protests
In the months between “No Kings” rallies, the backdrop of current events has changed — from National Guard deployments to immigration enforcement crackdowns and now the war with Iran.
But many issues remain the same, according to organizers.
“Our members will be turning out peacefully in the streets because they believe in a better future for this country, and they can’t sit by on the sidelines about what Trump and his administration are doing to our home,” said Katie Bethell, executive director of MoveOn. “Let’s be clear, the Trump administration has become a threat to the American people at every level. They are waging violence at home and abroad.”
Americans, organizers said, are fed up with “constant chaos, and they’re ready to stand in solidarity against the Trump administration’s overreach.”
“That’s why millions of us are rising up from all walks of life, from rural communities to big cities at ‘No Kings,’” Bethell said.
What to know about the "No Kings" flagship event
At least 100,000 people are expected to attend the flagship “No Kings” protest at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul this afternoon.
Minneapolis and St. Paul were the epicenter of Operation Metro Surge, the largest immigration enforcement operation in US history, that led to weeks of protest in the Twin Cities over the winter, particularly after federal agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Federal agents used pepper balls, tear gas and pepper spray against protesters during these clashes, and images from the confrontations prompted concerns from some Trump administration officials over the optics of the immigration crackdown, leading to the withdrawal of some federal law enforcement personnel from the region.
Today’s rally is the first major demonstration since Operation Metro Surge wound down last month and is expected to take on a different tone. Music legend Bruce Springsteen is set to perform at the event.
He will join a star‑studded lineup of cultural icons, including famed folk singer and activist Joan Baez, award-winning actress and activist Jane Fonda, and singer Maggie Rogers. Political leaders are also expected to appear at the event, including Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Baez and Fonda spoke out against the Trump administration at a protest in the shadow of the Kennedy Center yesterday.
Millions of protesters attended last year's rallies. Here's a quick recap
During the most recent iteration of the nationwide “No Kings” protest, which was held last October, more than 2,700 events drew millions of demonstrators across the country to rally against President Donald Trump’s administration.
That was hundreds more events than were planned for the first go-round last June, when tens of thousands of people also took to the streets to protest what they describe as the president’s authoritarian agenda. That original event had been planned to align with Trump’s military parade in Washington.
Last year’s days of protest featured huge marches in major cities, but CNN also reported on small pockets of “No Kings” protesters cropping up along busy thoroughfares, in small town squares and at municipal parks in red and blue states alike.
The largely peaceful protests followed a tumultuous summer of mass immigration raids, demonstrations against federal immigration enforcement and the deployment of federal troops into Democratic-led cities.
While the Trump administration and some GOP officials painted the anti-Trump protests as the work of “violent left-wing radicals,” the organization behind the “No Kings” events, the Indivisible Project, said at the time that it is committed to “nonviolent action” and had trained tens of thousands of people in safety and de-escalation.
