Minneapolis ‘No Kings’ rally draws out thousands opposed to Trump policies
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Demonstrators packed nearly four city blocks outside U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis Saturday to protest President Donald Trump’s policies and actions they viewed as more like a royal than an elected official.
They wore costumes ranging from inflatable animals to handmaids to various iterations of the president. And they hoisted signs that said, “No kings, no tyrants,” and other phrases opposing Trump’s efforts during his second term in office.
“The reason we are here today is because Donald Trump and his corruption and his campaign to strip away our liberties, it is a now threat, Minnesota,” U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, a Minnesota Democrat, said. “It is not a potential. It is happening now.”
The protest was one of hundreds around the country aimed at voicing opposition to Trump’s administrative actions, like imposing tariffs and calling in the National Guard to cities led by Democrats. Trump has defended efforts to deploy Guard troops to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Portland in an effort to bolster public safety and immigration enforcement efforts on the ground.
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But the moves have prompted conflicts with American citizens on the ground, including wrongful arrests of people in the country with proper authorization and detaining of children.
“We love this country, and we want to keep it. There are millions of people around the country that are gathering today,” Smith told the crowd. “And everybody is here because we understand that we pledge allegiance not to a king, not to a person, but to our democratic values.”
Attorney General Keith Ellison touted the more than 40 lawsuits the state filed against the Trump administration over its policies since January.
“I will file 40 more,” Ellison said. “We are holding this dude accountable every day.”
He urged demonstrators to continue organizing and to vote in record numbers in 2026 to send a message to the Trump Administration.
Ken Brown, 76, came out to the gathering with a display depicting Trump as Humpty Dumpty and playing songs of revolution.
“It’s about what the nation truly stands for,” Brown said. “The right for every American to come and give their voice in a peaceful protest and stand for the freedoms that we stand for, the blood that is shed through all the generations of people fighting for democracy and liberty and freedom for all.”
Lucia Wroblewski, a retired St. Paul police officer who ran and lost for a legislative seat on the DFL ticket last year held up a big poster of Minnesota’s flag honoring the late House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman. Hortman and her husband were assassinated in their home in June, just hours before the last “No Kings” rally.
“I’m for people’s rights, I’m for the Constitution, I’m for the rule of law,” she said. “I was a police officer in St. Paul and the rule of law matters, and I’m begging our police and our military to do the right thing by the Constitution.”
The group of thousands marched through the streets Saturday afternoon yelling out chants like, “This is what Democracy looks like,” and dancing along to music blasted through speakers.
In response to the protests, Minnesota Republicans said the crowds represented a small group of “far-left” demonstrators preventing the reopening of the federal government.
“The same base that supports Hamas terrorists, uses violent rhetoric like ‘fascists’ and ‘gestapo,’ and is demanding the American people be held hostage to their demands,” U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, wrote on X. “Don’t be fooled. The far-left is now the Democrat party’s mainstream.”
The groups leading the “No Kings” demonstrations around the country have said their mission is to protest peacefully and to exercise their constitutional right to free speech and assembly. And local leaders have urged Emmer to walk back and apologize for the characterizations of people participating in the protests, as they could spur violence against them.
A handful of detractors yelled out during speeches and walked the park with a megaphone ahead of the event. But they didn’t draw much attention from the main stage atop a truck bed.
The Minneapolis Police Department assisted with security but said it wasn’t providing an estimate as to the size of the crowd because it was a private event.
The Minnesota Republican Party on social media suggested that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had taken actions like a monarch in 2020, when he issued executive orders aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19. They said the protests should be directed at Walz, not Trump.
“When you trace the dollar signs, you see the same financiers who tried to coronate Walz as vice president are now trying to dethrone Trump,” Minnesota Republican Party chair Alex Plechash said. “This isn’t a grassroots protest — it’s a prepackaged Washington playbook imported to insult Minnesota voters.”
Walz is seeking an unprecedented third consecutive four-year term in office. He has said Minnesota needs a battle-tested leader that can stand up to the Trump administration. So far, no other Democrats have announced a bid to challenge him. Several Republican candidates have lined up for a chance to take him on in 2026.
