CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Thousands of demonstrators lined Eighth Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids to peacefully protest the Trump administration during a nationwide “No Kings” day on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Chanting “this is what democracy looks like,” an estimated 4,000 people waved American flags and carried signs reading “No kings in America,” “Democracy not dictatorship,” “Trump is a traitor,” “I love my country” and more, while motorists honked in support.
Officially, about 1,100 people registered for the event — one of at least 2,500 similar demonstrations nationwide — but the actual turnout on the balmy October morning was easily more than triple that number.
Drummer Slayton Thompson arrived by 8 a.m. and kept the crowd rocking with music, while some of the demonstrators burst into song with “God Bless America.”
Cedar Rapids police temporarily halt a march following the “No Kings” protest. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Standing several people deep at some intersections, the crowd stretched from halfway across the Eighth Avenue Bridge, past the railroad tracks to Fifth Street SE; an even longer line than the previous “No Kings” protest in June.
As the two-hour protest ended, demonstrators marched down Second Street SE, past the federal courthouse to First Street, where they were temporarily stopped by police before being allowed to continue.
See photos from the June 2025 protest and more from today’s No Kings demonstration, below:
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