‘No Kings’ 2.0 rally takes over Kansas City on nationwide day of Trump protests
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Indivisible anchored No Kings protests in Kansas City, drawing large crowds
- Protesters targeted Trump policies from immigration to troop deployments
- Events stayed peaceful in Kansas City, organizers urged lasting activism
Throngs of Kansas City-area residents took their outrage and fear to the streets Saturday, along with their signs and costumes, for No Kings demonstrations that blanketed the metro.
Organizers behind the nationwide protests, Indivisible, chose Kansas City to be an “anchor” city for the day of resistance against President Donald Trump, joining Atlanta, Boston, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., where other large-scale events were held.
As peaceful demonstrations broke up at Mill Creek Park near the Country Club Plaza Saturday afternoon, protesters began marching along Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard and chanting to a chorus of blaring car horns.
Gail Vessels of Prairie Village brought a full-size American flag to the rally instead of a sign.
“I want the Republicans to know that we love America,” Vessels said. “Them calling this the Hate America rally is just ridiculous. I just want to show the world that we’re not giving up, we’re not going to fall to (Trump’s) authoritarianism.”
In the four months since millions participated in the first round of No Kings protests, the Trump administration has not altered course.
Instead, Trump and his deputies have ratcheted up many of the policies their detractors find most objectionable, from escalating trade wars that stoke economic uncertainty at home to aggressively detaining anyone suspected of being in the country illegally.
Tammy Perryman of Roeland Park got emotional talking about how the threat of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE, detainment has forced her loved ones to live in fear.
“I have friends and family who are hiding right now, who have their friends and family bringing them food and groceries (because they) can’t go to work,” Perryman said. “And it really upsets me because these are people who fed me and my children when we had nowhere to go, and I can’t do anything to help them but make a freaking sign.”
Jim Jones of Overland Park said “No Kings” protesters are “people who are supporting what America is all about.”
“My son is Hispanic, and so he’s that brown-skinned, tattooed kid that ICE is picking up, so it’s time to get out and stand up and say something,” Jones said.
Since June, Trump has federalized National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Memphis, and used his bully pulpit to pressure Republican-controlled states to redraw congressional maps that carve up cities, including Kansas City, for the GOP’s electoral gain.
He has also leveraged the justice system to an unprecedented extent to enact revenge against his political enemies and initiated a crackdown on free speech in the month since conservative influencer Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Scenes from the protest
A man dressed in an Uncle Sam outfit sang a Donald Trump themed version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” to protesters marching on Ward Parkway.
The song began, “Take Trump out of the White House, lock him up in jail. Put him in handcuffs, and we will shout. We don’t care if he ever gets out.”
Many Kansas City protesters joined the trend of the protesters in Portland, Oregon, by wearing inflatable costumes.
Brandon Jackson of Kansas City, Kansas, donned a penguin suit and held a “No ICE Please” sign. He said he wanted to debunk the myth of violent protests and bring silliness and good vibes to the demonstration.
Tony Wilson of Kansas City took a moment to reflect as he stood cooling off with his inflatable frog costume at his feet.
“I’m a seven-year veteran of the military, and seeing Donald Trump s— all over our Constitution, which I took an oath to defend, makes me angry,” Wilson said. “That’s why I’m out here.”
He said he’s disgusted by Trump’s decision to activate troops in cities he deems dangerous.
“Granted, the president is the commander and chief. However, the American military should not be used against its own people,” Wilson said.
Kendrick, the service dog, received pets while decked out in a “Dog against D.O.G.E.” sign.
Kendrick was one of several non-homo sapiens supporters at the protest. Multiple demonstrators held up feline signs, including “My cat hates ICE” and “My cat is the only orange king I serve.”
And Boston terrier Joan of Bark wore monarch butterfly wings emblazoned with “Abolish ICE.”
More protesters weigh in
Sisters Lula and Lonnie Beattle, both of Kansas City, set up their chairs and signs under a tree in Mill Creek Park.
Lula Beattle, 78, said she marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington, D.C.
“I would do it again. We’re in dark times,” she said.
Lonnie Beattle, 75, said, “you’re never too old to contribute.” The retired postal worker brought signs supporting her former employer.
“The Postal Service belongs to the people,” Lonnie said.
Carter Taylor of Kansas City, an elementary school educator and legislative chair for the Kansas City Federation of Teachers, said efforts to privatize education should scare parents.
“We’re clearly already seeing massive defunding of our public schools, and especially this week with the national cuts to the Department of Education staffing around special needs students,” Taylor said, adding that students deserve better.
“I teach elementary schoolers, and they have no say in what’s going on,” Taylor said. “We’re supposed to keep them safe. So what are we supposed to do if all those safety nets are taken away from them?”
No major instances of violence broke out in Kansas City during the day of demonstrations. Counter-protesters were few and far between.
Jim Fleming, a Kansas City-area psychiatrist who was working event security for the local Indivisible chapter, said he only had to deal with minor confrontations.
“(My job is) mainly to keep everybody safe and de-escalate if there’s some escalation. Somebody threw a bottle at a truck with a Trump sign on it, and that was de-escalated,” Fleming said.
Mallory Mudd Pomerville and several other women at Mill Creek Park donned costumes based on the television adaptation of “The Handmaid‘s Tale,” which is set in an oppressive regime that subjugates women.
Pomerville said she’s fed up with people’s rights being stripped or treated as privileges. She walked around with one of the biggest signs at the park — a four-panel display of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
“I thought it would be educational,” Pomerville said, stating she doesn’t believe many people have read the founding documents for themselves.
David Hines of Kansas City, Kansas, wore a unicorn costume and sat in a folding chair near the edge of the park.
Hines said he wants to see the energy of the day’s demonstrations “translate into something more permanent.”
“This is great — get together, everybody has a good time — but it would be nice if we could come up with some solutions for some of this stuff. And there’s enough brain power in this country that we should be able to figure this stuff out,” Hines said.
Hines, 73, said he remembers Dwight D. Eisenhower’s portrait on the wall of his grade school.
“You might not have agreed with everything that he did, but you knew that he had the country’s best interests at heart and did what he could to do the job that we elected him for,” Hines said. “I wish there was more of that sense now, because it seems like they just want to represent their own side and ignore the rest of us.”
This story was originally published October 18, 2025 at 7:22 PM.
