Jayden Jefferson
Rod H. holds a sign while dressed in a wolf costume during the No Kings protest on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh, NC, on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. The nationwide No Kings protests were organized in response to the recent policies and actions of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Massive crowds of Raleighites waved flags and signs along Capitol Boulevard for the Raleigh No Kings protest this Saturday. Organized by the members of the Triangle Resistance United, the protest was a part of a nationwide campaign to call attention to dissatisfaction with the Trump administration.
The No Kings Day of Action is a follow-up to June 14, 2025. The day saw thousands of protests nationwide and millions of Americans gathered to condemn the actions of President Donald Trump. The No Kings movement emphasizes nonviolence and community action.
Protesters flooded in through the surrounding parking lots of the Triangle Town Center and clustered on street corners. Many people held signs with anti-Trump and anti-authoritarian messages, while others were dressed in elaborate costumes or inflatable suits.
Many signs called out recent attacks on the rights of immigrants and working Americans. Families, students and retirees all stood facing the street or walked along the crowd of protesters, met with consistent honking from passing cars.
Michael Williams, a Raleigh resident and veteran, said he hopes that the demonstration could be a show of outrage and discontent with the Trump administration.
A poll by Elon University found that 50% of North Carolinian adults disapprove of Donald Trump’s job performance, while only 39% approve, as of September 2025. The same poll found that a majority of respondents believe inflation, the job market and the economy have all gotten worse under Trump.
Williams said such a big gathering will hopefully galvanize apathetic voters to realize the gravity of what is happening in the federal government. Williams said that he feels every American should be concerned about what is happening in their government because it concerns every American.
“It’s bigger than just the LGBT community. It’s bigger than the POC community. Literally every facet of life is being negatively affected by this administration,” Williams said.
José Bruno-Bárcena, a professor of microbiology at NC State, was in attendance with his wife. As an immigrant and a scientist in higher education, Bruno-Bárcena said he has been upset with the state of the country and worried for its future.
“If the situation continues in this way, individuals like us that contribute to the economical development of this country will be leaving,” Bruno-Bárcena said. “And not because they are kicking us out. It’s because that’s the only option that they are putting in front of us.”
Bruno-Bárcena said he thought the protest would serve as a wake-up call to those being harmed by the new policy throughout the fields of science, education and economics, and show that there is a real backlash happening to the controversial actions of the president.
“This is finally showing that society has started reacting to all these illegal actions that are being taken,” Bruno-Bárcena said.
Protester Aaron Ghering, an LGBTQ+ Raleigh resident and veteran, was fired from his federal job last week. Ghering said the American government under the Trump administration is acting contrary to what he fought for as an Army service member.
“We’re supposed to be given those rights and protect that all people, regardless of who they love, what they believe or where they come from, are welcome here and are cherished and empowered to be the best people they can be,” Ghering said.
Working as a psychologist in the Department of the Treasury, Ghering and his team assumed they had survived the first few rounds of layoffs by pure luck. Just last week, his entire division was furloughed and then fired, part of the layoffs in the Department of the Treasury that had 1,500 employees let go this term.
“I lost my job last week, and so it even makes me hungrier to come out and try to do something good,” Ghering said.
Charles Ward, a Raleigh resident, said he felt he needed to do something to honor his family that had fought for civil rights before him.
He said he felt the situation was dire, citing what he saw as fascist traits in the Trump administration, such as villainizing minorities and asserting authoritarian power. His greatest fear is the reinterpretation of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court and the consequences it would have on representation in minority districts.
“We’ve got to do something, especially since they’re getting ready to undo the last of the Voting Rights Act. We’ve got to be ready to fight. We got to do something,” Ward said.
No Kings protests happened across the Triangle Saturday, with notable gatherings in Apex, Cary, Durham, Wake Forest and more. Across the country, seven million Americans gathered in 2,700 cities, according to nokings.org, breaking the records for attendance set in June.
In Raleigh, there were no obvious counterprotesters.
Ward said he was pleased to see the representations of American pride still within the crowd. Many protesters along the street held American flags, many with additional messages or images denouncing Trump.
“We are united, we are strong, and we are, as they say, a legion. There are many, many of us and yes, we are patriots because we’re waving the flag,” Ward said. “No, we don’t hate our country. People are in red, white and blue. We’re Americans. That’s the point. We are Americans who want to save our country.”