From coast to coast, millions gathered for the No Kings protests—dwarfing Trump’s birthday parade with signs that mocked authoritarianism and championed democracy.
Thousands of No Kings protests swept across the United States on Saturday, June 14. The protests intentionally coincided with a lavish, Trump-ordered U.S. Army 250th anniversary parade, Flag Day and the president’s 79th birthday.
From big cities, to small rural towns, representing every corner of the country, between 4 and 6 million people in more than 2,000 locations attended No Kings protests across the country, making it one of the largest national protests in U.S. history.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Trump’s military parade was “underwhelming,” according to reporters at The New York Times. According to the Associated Press, attendance fell far short of the expected 200,000.
At the No Kings protests, signs criticized many of Trump’s policies, including mass deportations of immigrants without due process; ongoing efforts to dismantle the civil service and weaken government agencies; attacks on academia and more.
“Today what I saw was a boisterous, peaceful display of First Amendment rights,” Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of the nonprofit Indivisible, told NPR.
Here are some of our favorite signs from those “boisterous” protesters.
West Coast
South
Midwest
Opinion: Trump hates it but Americans are very much united. No King protests proof. | Opinion https://t.co/Bm6eRHwNKG
— Columbus Dispatch (@DispatchAlerts) June 16, 2025
East Coast
Roxana Behdad is an editorial intern for Ms. and a rising senior at Cornell University, majoring in political science and minoring in creative writing. Her specific interests include political and feminist theory.
Ava Blando is a guest writer and Editorial Intern with Ms. She is currently majoring in Government at Smith College with a Concentration in Community Engagement and Social Change and a Certificate in Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice. Ava is an aspiring impact litigator with experience in state and federal policy and government, nonprofit administration, environmental organizing, and journalism. In her free time, she enjoys songwriting and playing guitar.
