Throngs of demonstrators gathered in cities across the country Saturday for a third round of “No Kings” protests against the Trump administration, with the flagship rally held in Minnesota’s capital after this winter’s immigration crackdown claimed two lives in the Twin Cities.
Organizers said millions were expected to gather in the U.S. and around the world in what they predicted would be the “single largest non-violent day of action” in American history.
More than 3,200 marches were planned across all 50 states and several continents, as protesters voiced outrage over Trump’s war with Iran, the rising cost of gas and his administration’s mass deportation agenda.
While many of the events in major cities reported peaceful gatherings with numbers into the tens of thousands and no arrests, a few protests became raucous.
The choice of St. Paul as the movement’s central protest site carries particular meaning. The Twin Cities remain a flashpoint after the January killings of two Americans — Alex Pretti and Renee Good — during a federal immigration crackdown that drew backlash over tactics used against protesters and immigrants.
“Since the last No Kings [protests], we’re seeing higher gas prices and groceries, all while there’s an illegal war in Iran,” Sarah Parker, a national coordinator for the group 50501, told reporters Thursday on a national press call previewing Saturday’s events.
“We’ve also seen our neighbors executed, American citizens executed, and our children carrying the burden of owning their own power and walking out of school in defiance,” Parker added. “The people of America are pissed. They are the ones demanding for no kings.”
On Saturday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz condemned the immigration crackdown to a roaring crowd in St. Paul, saying the people of his state “will never forget what they did here.”
“When the wannabe dictator in the White House sent his untrained, aggressive thugs to do damage to Minnesota, it was you Minnesota who stood up for your neighbors, who stood up for decency, who stood up for kindness,” he said. “And at this moment, that we are still in, when democracy itself seems to be at risk, it was Minnesota who said: ‘Not on our watch.’”
The governor then introduced Bruce Springsteen to perform at the rally. Springsteen has been an ardent critic of both Trump and the immigration crackdown, releasing the song “Streets of Minneapolis” about the enforcement operation in January.
“They picked the wrong city,” the rock icon said onstage Saturday. “Your strength and your commitment told us that this is still America. You gave us hope. You gave us courage.”
Springsteen also spoke of Pretti and Good.
“Their bravery, their sacrifice and their names will not be forgotten,” he said.
Reed and Amy Sorensen were among the thousands of protesters in St. Paul. The couple said they were demonstrating with their family in response to the war in Iran, the immigration crackdown and what Reed Sorensen described as a “lack of prosecution” after the release of the Epstein files.
“The rest of the country has been looking at us and the way we reacted to ICE in January and the way we come together to take care of our community and voice our opinions in a peaceful way,” Amy Sorensen said.
Police sources said more than six dozen protesters were arrested in Los Angeles, where federal authorities deployed tear gas after police said demonstrators threw large concrete blocks and other items.
A Dallas police spokesperson confirmed that one protester was arrested there; and in Portland, Oregon, video verified by NBC News showed some arrests after protesters clashed with police outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
A national NBC News poll from earlier this month found that majorities of registered voters in the U.S. disapprove of the president’s handling of immigration, Iran and inflation and the cost of living.
Organizers, who hail from left-leaning groups, including Indivisible, Public Citizen, MoveOn, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Action Network, expected the third No Kings day of protest to be far larger than the first two. They said more than 7 million people rallied across the country and around the world during October’s No Kings day of action.
At a No Kings event on Saturday across the Atlantic, in Paris, a woman held a sign that said, “REGIME CHANGE IN THE USA.”
Leaders of the movement said they were encouraged that more than 50% of official protest events registered on their website for Saturday were in Republican-leaning or battleground states and areas.
“The stat is impressive. It’s meaningful. I think it also just speaks to the universal appeal of what we’re trying to accomplish here. This is not a partisan issue. It’s actually the most patriotic thing you can do. To stand up and stand together and say that there aren’t kings in America is not controversial,” Lisa Gilbert, the co-president of Public Citizen, told reporters.
The first No Kings day of protest, in June 2025, was organized amid Trump’s decision to hold a military parade in Washington on his birthday.
At the time, the president told reporters, “If there’s any protester that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force. I haven’t even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.”
Organizers have preached nonviolence since the inception of “No Kings” and had said they expected protesters Saturday to remain peaceful even if met with resistance from federal agents deployed across the country.
“We are not going to be intimidated,” Deirdre Schifeling, the chief political and advocacy officer at the ACLU, said Thursday. “We are going to be safe. We are going to be peaceful. We are going to be free. So yes, know your rights, and also, we will not be scared off by this tactic.”
Asked for comment on the “No Kings” demonstrations across the country Saturday, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, “The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them.”
