Hundreds marched across the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the No Kings day rally in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 18, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
A variety of causes pulled people into the joyful throngs of the Oct. 18 No Kings demonstrations, despite masked federal agents ramming cars and snatching racially ambiguous people from American streets.
Joyous because songs, smiles and hugs, and inflatable costumes filled the atmosphere and pierced the loneliness and fear that escalating immigration raids and National Guard occupation threats have created. At the rallies, immigration advocates risked their safety to encourage those living in the shadows. LGBTQ+ advocates asserted their intention to live unapologetically. Organizers sounded a civic engagement call to action…