Local ‘No Kings’ rally organizers estimate 4,000 attended, topping June event

WNIN | By Tim Jagielo

Published October 20, 2025 at 4:59 PM CDT

Warrick County resident Brandon Baxter flies his Gadsden Flag at the No Kings protest event in Evansville, Saturday, Oct. 18. He prefers to interpret the flag for its original intent — to protest the overreach of a king. "It's a symbol of us together as a country fighting against tyranny," he said. "So the flag represents that. It represents the Constitution, the the Declaration of Independence."

Overall No Kings organization reports 2,700 separate rallies inside the US with 7 million participating

Rose Connor and Annette Fehn protest along MLK Boulevard in Evansville, Saturday Oct.18 for the No Kings rally. They both said they've never protested before but felt compelled to join. Connor said she has voted for both republicans and democrats.

Protesters came with signs, slogans and sometimes costumes, to decry US President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, alleged associations with Jeffrey Epstein, access to healthcare and more.

Demonstrators like Rose Connor and Annette Fehn protested for the first time ever on Saturday.

“It’s a dictator ship … we have grandbabies we’re worried about,” Connor said.

“He's taking away Meals on Wheels and food stamps for children,” Fehn said.

Attendees like Arthur Moore of Grayville Illinois are concerned for U.S. Democracy.

“It just don't feel like the country I grew up in,” he said. “(It) always felt like we were the good guys, the guys in the white hat, feeding people, taking democracy across the world.”

Nationwide, the No Kings organization says 2,700 protests were planned for Saturday Oct. 18. Dozens were held in Indiana, including Evansville. They estimate 7 million participated nationwide.

A group of about six pro-Trump attendees demonstrated near the edges of the No Kings rally Saturday, Oct. 18 in Evansville. Their presence drew some negative attention from No Kings attendees.

While it was a peaceful gathering, the six or so Trump supporters were antagonized by some protesters, facing both megaphone chanting and incisive questioning.

Those present who were supporting President Trump did not wish to comment to WNIN.

While the ‘No Kings’ organization has meetings coming to plan what’s next. Rick Thompson of Evansville has concerns for future events.

“There's a lot of people are feeling like this may be the last chance we get to protest,” he said as the event wound down.

“You start looking at what's going on in Chicago and Memphis and DC and LA, where we have troops on the ground. This is becoming very serious, becoming very real, and people are very, very frightened.”

He’s referring to National Guard Troops such as those in Texas being sent to demonstrations.

Organizing entity Evansville Resistance are estimating 4,000 participated total, in Saturday 'No Kings' Events.

Kristina Bickle of Evansville Resistance said a combination of crowd spotters and aerial drones were used to arrive at that number.

The Evansville Police Department does not have an official crowd estimate, and there is no independent verifiable count.

Dozens of such events were held in Indiana. Events were also in Henderson and Owensboro, Kentucky.

The group Indivisible Evansville also hosted University of Evansville professor Valerie Stein at McCullough Library.

Stein discussed the impact of collective action and announced a free series of workshops that will teach local activists to effectively make change.

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