We the People... (No Kings Day 2025)

No Kings Protest 2025

Newport, Oregon

I participated in my very first protest this past weekend! My 92-year-old mother said she would really like to go, so we made a couple of signs, and joined 20 friends from our neighborhood to protest in Newport, OR. The weather couldn't have been more perfect; the sun was shining, temps in the 60s, and a gentle breeze kept us from getting too warm standing in the sunshine. There were hundreds of us along Highway 101 and it was incredibly uplifting! I felt proud to be among all those like-minded folks. We didn't have any serious problems with negativity. A few people held up hands with thumbs down. One guy flipped us the bird, one guy yelled that he loved Trump, a few people kept their windows rolled up as they stared straight ahead. But overall, the positive attitude from people driving by, some very slowly, smiling and waving and giving us thumbs up or peace signs, was so inspiring. A young girl (9 years old) walked by with her mom, pulling a cart full of snacks and bottled water to offer to the protesters. Her mom said it was her daughter's idea. My heart was bursting by the time we left Newport. 

From Heather Cox Richardson's daily column (Oct. 19, 2025):

Scholar of social movements Lisa Corrigan noted that large, fun marches full of art and music expand connections and make people more willing to take risks against growing state power. They build larger communities by creating new images that bring together recognizable images from the past in new ways, helping more people see themselves in such an opposition. The community and good feelings those gatherings develop help carry opposition through hard moments. Corrigan notes, too, that yesterday “every single rally (including in the small towns) was bigger than the surrounding police force available. That kind of image event is VERY IMPORTANT if you’re…demonstrating social coherence AGAINST a fascist government and its makeshift gestapo.”

Such rallies “bring together multigenerational groups and the playfulness can help create enthusiasm for big tent politics against the monoculture of fascism,” Corrigan writes. “The frogs (and unicorns and dinosaurs) will be defining ideographs of this period of struggle.”

From Brian Bahouth of KYAQ on October 19, 2025:

On Saturday in Newport, Oregon, roughly 1,200 people assembled as part of the nationwide No Kings II protest. According to organizers, nearly 7 million people turned out for more than 2,700 demonstrations across the nation, with at least one in every state. Thirteen rallies were held in Oregon coastal communities.

In Newport, protesters occupied both sides of the Pacific Coast Highway from the intersection with U.S. Route 20 to just south of Newport City Hall.

Another source claims there were "more than 2,600 protesters gathered Saturday in Newport to protest President Donald Trump. Event organizers from Indivisible Waves had several counters present to capture the record number of participants. There were more event organizers present, with some taking on sections to count with manual clicker tools. The group counted 2,632 protestors in Newport."