Threats of arrest will not stop the ‘No Kings’ rallies this Saturday

Photo credit: Community organizers speak at the No Kings rally in Newark, NJ on September 14, 2025. Photo courtesy of Hali Cooper (POP)

On June 14, President Trump’s birthday, the No Kings movement organized millions of people to draw attention to what many believed was the decline of US democracy and denounce the planned military parade on the Capitol. Over 2,100 rallies, demonstrations, and protests were held in all 50 states.

This Saturday, Oct. 18th, the No Kings movement will hold pro-democracy protests across the 50 states amidst threats of arrests from political leaders. The organizers believe that the undermining of our democratic institutions has become even more grave, especially in light of the recent government shutdown, expanded immigration crackdown, tariffs that deepen economic hardships for Americans everywhere, and attacks on the press and the Judiciary.

Indivisible, the national entity organizing this movement, anticipates that the crowds will surpass the June 14 protests—there are over 2,500 events planned across all 50 states. Several of those events will be held right here in NJ.

“We want everyone to come out and begin to engage in the fight for our shared democracy. We are part of the larger local grassroots coalition that connects to the national work, and we believe this is the framework for the survival of our city, state and country. We have to organize, come out and vote, and show up in community—we cannot be silent,” said Debra Smith Gregory, President, NAACP-Newark.

Here in Newark, a coalition of local grassroots organizations, including the Newark-based Peoples Organization for Progress (POP), will hold a peaceful march and rally beginning at the Lincoln Statue (12 Springfield Avenue, Newark, NJ) at 1 PM. Protesters will then march to the Federal Building (970 Broad Street, Newark, NJ) and then back to the Lincoln Statue for a closing rally. 

According to their press release, ‘the purpose of this action is to demonstrate our continued opposition to the racist, fascist, imperialist, and corrupt policies of the Trump administration, and his efforts to establish a dictatorship in this country.’ 

POP Chairman Lawrence Hamm speaks on the importance of civic action at this unprecedented time: “We’re protesting against Trump’s attempts to establish himself as a dictator in this country. His attempts to dismantle the democratic process in this country. His attempts to implement measures that are antithetical to and hurtful to working people, poor people, the middle class. Every demonstration is an opportunity to broaden our ranks, make our movement stronger, so we can win at the ballot box.”

Photo credit: Community members gather to listen to No Kings rally in Newark, NJ on September 14, 2025. Photo courtesy of Hali Cooper (POP)

As a sanctuary city, Newark has been enduring substantial hits under Trump’s administration, including lawsuits over their sanctuary policies, the reopening of immigration facility Delaney Hall, and the arrest of Mayor Ras Baraka. However, the community has demonstrated fierce, unified resistance, and they plan to make their voices heard and be part of the count.

Many of the local coalition members we spoke with believe that the local No Kings rally must be part of a larger election strategy, and the work includes GOTV for the upcoming NJ gubernatorial, midterm, and state general assembly elections.  

“In the midst of these rallies we can find those that don't quite fit into the box and invite them to help us continue building a just society.  We should also be there to remind all that the fight for the liberation of Palestine must continue.  We will be there to show people that there's an alternative to the two corrupt party system, one that represents all of us and is not there just for the millionaires as is the case of the duopoly,” said Lily Benavides, the Green Party write-in candidate for Governor.

“The Democrats have gotten us to this position just as much as Republicans have. Democrats have been feeding this detention deportation machine just as much as Republicans have all these decades,” says Kathy O’Leary, New Jersey region coordinator and ambassador of peace for Pax Christi USA. She will be attending and speaking at the upcoming No Kings protests in Morristown and Newark but grounds this conversation in real demands for change. 

Ultimately, the No Kings protests' leaders and participants hope to send a message that the people are united in a fight against tyranny, corruption, and injustice, while advocating for effective reform driven by the people and not by political machines.

Wesley Leung, a high school senior from Englewood Cliffs, NJ, explains his involvement in the No Kings movement: “The society that we’re living in is not a society that we want for our future. It is unacceptable for people to be deported with no due process, for my taxes to go towards billionaires and foreign governments committing genocide, for tens of thousands to die every year because they can’t afford health care. Hopefully we can put enough pressure on the government and our representatives to create change.”