--- title: How ‘No Kings’ Leaders Plan to Handle Law Enforcement Crackdown description: Protest organizers say that they have spent weeks preparing attendees to remain lawful, and nonviolent—even if met with aggression. canonical: https://time.com/7326346/no-kings-protest-violence-oct-18/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-10-17T11:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-11T00:25:38.558Z article:section: Politics og:title: ‘No Kings’ Organizers Predict Peaceful Protest, Fear Trump Crackdown og:description: Protest organizers say that they have spent weeks preparing attendees to remain lawful—even if met with aggression. og:url: https://time.com/7326346/no-kings-protest-violence-oct-18/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5dae7fd0b83f4a40/6998cad01f670947e2f56d5c/GettyImages-2231303660.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Kilmar Abrego Garcia Checks In At Baltimore ICE Office After Release From Jail og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: ‘No Kings’ Organizers Predict Peaceful Protest, Fear Trump Crackdown twitter:description: Protest organizers say that they have spent weeks preparing attendees to remain lawful—even if met with aggression. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5dae7fd0b83f4a40/6998cad01f670947e2f56d5c/GettyImages-2231303660.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # ‘No Kings’ Organizers Predict Peaceful Gathering of Millions Amid Fears of Law Enforcement Crackdown > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=09dd12f9-cebe-4ab4-b191-5ac5bf745ddf&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Oct 17, 2025 11:00 AM UTC  A woman holds a sign that reads "No Kings!" with an upside down American flag at a prayer vigil and rally at a Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office on August 25, 2025 in Baltimore. A woman holds a sign that reads "No Kings!" with an upside down American flag at a prayer vigil and rally at a Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office on August 25, 2025 in Baltimore. Andrew Harnik—Getty Images  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Oct 17, 2025 11:00 AM UTC As Republican leaders attempt to cast the nationwide [“No Kings” protests](https://time.com/7325683/no-kings-protests-oct-18/) planned for Saturday as anti-American rallies, organizers are pushing back and say that they have spent weeks preparing demonstrators to remain calm, lawful, and nonviolent—even if met with aggression. The organizers said they expect millions to turn out for what they describe as a peaceful demonstration against President Donald Trump’s expansion of executive power, suggesting that Trump's prediction of "very few people" taking part will prove false. The marches, planned in more than 2,600 cities and towns, will be the second major mobilization of the movement since June—but it comes amid heightened warnings and military preparations from some state and federal officials. In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott [announced](https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/16/texas-greg-abbott-national-guard-no-kings-protest-austin/) National Guard deployments in Austin, citing what he called possible threats from “antifa-linked” demonstrators. Democrats there accused him of using the Guard to intimidate protesters. The tension reflects a broader clash over the meaning of public dissent in the Trump era. While administration officials frame the protests as a potential threat to order, organizers say they represent a test of the country’s ability to tolerate peaceful opposition—and of citizens’ willingness to defend their own rights. Given the heightened rhetoric, groups including the American Civil Liberties Union, Indivisible, MoveOn and the American Federation of Teachers say they are taking extra precautions, focusing on de-escalation and community safety, and distributing guidance on how to respond peacefully if met with aggression by law enforcement or counterprotesters. “They might try to paint this weekend’s events as something dangerous,” said Diedre Schlifeling, the ACLU’s chief political and advocacy officer. “But the reality is there is nothing unlawful or unsafe about organizing and attending peaceful protests. It’s the most patriotic and American thing you can do.” The “No Kings” movement began earlier this year as a response to Trump’s assertion of sweeping executive powers. Its slogan—modeled after the Revolution-era rejection of monarchy—has become a rallying cry for those who see the administration’s actions as a threat to democratic institutions. The movement’s [first nationwide day of protest](https://time.com/7294323/trumps-military-parade-took-over-washington-as-anti-trump-no-kings-protests-dominated-everywhere-else/) in June was largely peaceful, though isolated clashes broke out between police and demonstrators in several cities. Organizers deliberately avoided holding a march in Washington, D.C. at the time, as Trump was attending a military parade in the city after he lobbied for one commemorating the Army’s 250th anniversary, which coincided with his 79th birthday. Around five million people attended the protests nationwide, organizers said. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump downplayed the scope of the demonstrations. “They have their day coming up,” the President said. “I hear very few people are gonna be there, by the way. But they have their day coming up and they want to have their day in the sun.” House Speaker Mike Johnson called the demonstrations against the Trump Administration a “Hate America rally” and claimed it would draw the “pro-Hamas wing” of the Democratic party and “the antifa people.” Majority Whip Tom Emmer accused Democrats of “promoting the terrorist wing of their party.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described expected participants as “the farthest left, the hardest core, the most unhinged in the Democratic Party.” Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas suggested the National Guard might need to show up. In a press conference on Thursday, organizers accused Republicans of attempting to intimidate people from attending. “Now they are trying to smear millions of Americans who are coming out to protest so that they can justify and crack down on peaceful dissent,” said Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, one of the groups that organized the event. “It is the classic authoritarian playbook—threaten, smear and lie—but we will not be intimidated.” “We do not expect there to be any need for the National Guard to be deployed, but if the Trump Administration attempts to do that as a way to intimidate peaceful protests, we are prepared for that,” Schlifeling added. “We have done a lot of preparation and ‘Know Your Rights’ trainings with people across the country. 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