More than 100,000 patriotic New Yorkers peacefully walked from the heart of the Big Apple to Lower Manhattan on Saturday at the “No Kings” march in protest of President Trump and his policies, including the escalation of violence against United States citizens.
A sea of humanity began assembling at Father Duffy Square at around 11 a.m. on Oct. 18. Encompassed by the flashing billboard lights of Times Square, fuming New Yorkers held signs reading “ICE out of NYC,” “fight fascism,” and “we love America.”
Dubbed the No Kings march, the protest is a nationwide call to action that saw residents from all across the country take to the streets in order to voice opposition to Trump sending masked federal agents into the streets to target and arrest immigrants and protesters.
The march also pushed back against healthcare cuts, the failure to act on mass shootings, and a demand to keep the military out of NYC.
“The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty,” a statement on the No Kings website read. “Our peaceful movement is only getting bigger and bigger. “NO KINGS” is more than just a slogan; it is the foundation our nation was built upon.”
A slew of New York politicians also joined the ranks of sign-toting, peaceful protesters, such as New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and congresswoman Nydia Velázquez.
“I joined 10s of thousands of New Yorkers today to say it loud and clear: No to tyranny. No to cruelty. No to kings in America. The GOP can smear these protests all they want, but they can’t silence the truth. Americans are fed up with their authoritarian agenda,” Velázquez wrote on X.
The march continued down 7th Avenue, drawing attention from residents who peered out of their windows and climbed onto their fire escapes to watch the deluge of humanity flood the streets. The march came to an end at 14th Street Union Square.
In the days leading up to the march, protesters promised that it would remain peaceful, a pledge they kept according to the NYPD.
“The majority of the No Kings protests have dispersed at this time and all traffic closures have been lifted. We had more than 100,000 people across all five boroughs peacefully exercising their first amendment rights and the NYPD made zero protest-related arrests,” The NYPD wrote in X.
