This past weekend, several large U.S. cities were the site of a second round of “No Kings” protests, held to express opposition to President Donald Trump over myriad issues — particularly his unilateral, autocratic approach to governance. While these cities had huge turnouts, protests in smaller localities had proportionally large crowds of their own, showcasing that the movement against Trump’s authoritarianism is indeed growing, including in areas of the country where Trump had strong showings of support in the last presidential election.
Over 2,600 No Kings protests, estimated to involve over 7 million people, took place in the U.S. on Saturday, including around 60 events in Wisconsin alone. Truthout Trending News Writer Chris Walker attended four such events in the southern part of the Badger State on Saturday, where he spoke with demonstrators about why they participated in the protests. Participants’ last names have been retracted to preserve their anonymity.
Thousands of demonstrators took part in No Kings rallies across communities in southern Wisconsin on Saturday, expressing opposition to the Trump administration and determination to build community in the face of growing authoritarianism.
In Monona, a suburban city of around 9,000 residents just outside the capital city of Madison, around 400 people lined one of the busiest corners of the main street of the city. Protesters held signs in opposition to President Donald Trump, took part in cross-street chanting, and encouraged vehicles to honk their car horns in support — which dozens of cars did.
While some members of the administration and other allies of the president have tried to suggest these protests are unpatriotic, the residents here would largely disagree with that charge. Monona hosts the largest (and longest-running) annual Memorial Day parade in the entire state of Wisconsin, and its Fourth of July Festival regularly draws in crowds more than five times its population size every year.
The street corner where Saturday’s demonstration took place has also been the site of a protest against the Trump administration every Tuesday for most of his second term so far.
“One thing I hate is bullies,” said Brent, a regular at the weekly protests who was also in Monona for its No Kings protest over the weekend. “The Trump regime, they’re the worst of the worst.”
“I’m here to counteract that [bullying from Trump],” he added, “and try to bring joy to other people and get them involved.”
About a 30-minute drive south of Monona, in Stoughton, a crowd of around 500 protesters marched up and down both sides of its main street. Although the protest disrupted traffic, most who were held up by their march honked their car horns in support and gave thumbs-ups as they drove past.
Barbara, a participant in Stoughton’s No Kings protest, indicated that she felt Trump was “a big, big mistake for our country,” and that it was important “to stand up for what we believe in.”
Specifically, Barbara indicated she opposed Trump’s anti-immigration policies.
“I don’t like the idea that he’s sending ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] in and taking people without any warrant, they don’t get any trial or have lawyers or anything,” she said.
Craig and Laura, a married couple who had traveled to a No Kings protest in Delavan, also expressed frustration with the president’s refusal to abide by constitutional norms.
Around 1,500 participants took part in this small city’s No Kings protest. Located in Walworth County in the southeastern corner of the state, it is perhaps an unlikely spot for a demonstration against Trump — the county voted with 60.5 percent support for Trump in the 2024 presidential election (more than 10 points higher than the rate the president won across the state overall). Delavan is also the hometown of far right former Gov. Scott Walker.
Despite this, participants expressed outrage with the current administration’s actions, especially its refusal to follow checks and balances.
“The Constitution is not being abided by. He thinks he’s above it,” Laura said about Trump. “I just kind of see him as being a fake and a con.”
Craig also derided Trump’s “vision” for the country, saying that he believes deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s intended “direction” for the administration is “not best for this nation.”
But Craig also said it was “great” to see hundreds of people from a traditionally Republican area coming out to express opposition to the president.
“I guarantee you, there are people in this group that are Republicans that have said, ‘enough is enough,'” he added.
Laura also noticed that, since the first No Kings protest they had attended in June, participation seems to have gone up. “You can see the numbers increasing,” she said, with her husband nodding in agreement.
Later on Saturday, a much larger protest took place in Madison, the state’s capital and its second-largest city. Demonstrators held signs in support of LGBTQ rights, expressing solidarity with Palestinians in the face of Israel’s genocide, and affirming the right of immigrants to live in the U.S. and be afforded due process.
Speakers at the event condemned the Trump administration’s attacks on the media and free press, and encouraged attendees not to give in to the temptation of complacency.
John Nichols, executive editor of The Nation, called on news media to stand steadfast against Trump, and to continue reporting the truth rather than cower to the White House’s demands to be more “balanced.”
“Some media outlets have decided to go soft, and not tell the story of what’s happening in America,” Nichols said. “Brothers and sisters, there are others that will keep telling the story, because we know this: Donald Trump doesn’t want the full report of what is happening in America today, to the American people, because if it happened, the American people would know that tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of people have gathered to say today, ‘No Crowns, No Kings!'”
Rowan Attala, co-host of a local radio program called Salamat, also spoke at the rally, decrying the administration’s attacks on free speech.
“We need to speak out loudest when our constitutional right to free speech is under threat. Especially when, after two years of constantly protesting and speaking up, we have what, quite honestly, may only be a lull in a genocide paid for with your tax dollars,” Attala said, referring to Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
Dane County Circuit Judge Everett Mitchell — who recognized that his presence at the rally may get him “in trouble on Monday” — said it was important for him to be there.
The current administration’s methods are overwhelming, Mitchell noted, stating that “the anxiety being built after every five-minute news cycle or tweet and breaking headline changing from one controversial and consequential issue to the next is leaving the most passionate advocate grasping for breath, with little or no time to organize.”
“I’m witnessing immigrant families living in the shadows of a nation built upon the DNA of the enslaved, the blood of the Indigenous, the sweat of the Asian community, the hands of the immigrants and the whip of injustice,” he continued.
Mitchell also warned against people sitting back or taking a break in this moment:
The temptation in this moment is to sit idle, staring at the television and scrolling on your phone, tapping at the screen, just hoping that if we keep our heads underwater long enough, the shadow will pass and normal will return to our shores. But let me be the bearer of bad news: Whatever normal was, is or could be, is not returning to us. We are not going back. The only way is for us to go forward.
At each of these protests, participants expressed a desire to build community and to organize, showcasing that those in attendance, whether at large or small No Kings gatherings, were ready to heed Mitchell’s advice to “go forward.”
There may be a reason for their cautious optimism. Studies have demonstrated that, even when a small portion of people participate in protests, they are often successful at bringing about positive social change. One examination of nonviolent social movements has found that, when at least 3.5 percent of the population takes part in protests, serious political change typically results.
The cities listed above not only reached that threshold but likely exceeded them. Monona, for example, has a population of around 8,616 people — with 400 people taking part, that is equal to around 4.6 percent. Stoughton, with a population of 13,134, saw around 3.8 percent participation with its 500 participants involved. And in Madison, which has around 285,000 residents, the 15,000 or so who took part in its second No Kings protest is equal to about 5.2 percent of its population.
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