Last Saturday, October 18, the “No Kings” protest was held in various locations across the United States, including New York City. Demonstrators marched peacefully from Father Duffy Square in Manhattan along Seventh Avenue to Fourteenth Street, protesting the prolonged government shutdown and President Trump’s deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to assist in immigration enforcement. The march lasted approximately 2 hours.
According to the official announcement from the New York City Police Department on their X platform, an estimated 100,000 people participated in the protest in New York City, and no arrests were made.
The “No Kings” movement’s official website reported that they had the support of hundreds of partner organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Reproductive Freedom for All, Human Rights Campaign, MoveOn.org, and several labor unions.
Eunic Epstein-Ortiz, spokesperson for the “No Kings” movement, told English Epoch Times that the Communist Party USA had participated in the New York event, although they were not the national organizers. She emphasized that the protest adhered to non-violent principles, urging participants to refrain from carrying any weapons and to prioritize “de-escalation” in any confrontations.
In addition to New York, similar protests took place simultaneously in major cities such as Washington D.C., Boston, New Orleans, and Atlanta. Many participants wore inflatable dinosaur, chicken, and lobster costumes, holding up banners denouncing the Trump administration’s policies on immigration, abortion, LGBT rights, and military deployment.