A large No Kings protest in downtown Pittsburgh brought strong condemnations of President Donald Trump’s administration Saturday, but little disorder as rallies in Southwestern Pennsylvania and nationwide occurred largely peacefully.
Democratic officials and civil liberties activists took the microphone in front of the City-County Building, on Grant Street, where a crowd of thousands cheered.
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U.S. Rep. Summer Lee drew deafening cheers when she declared that “the time to build a better world is now.”
Lee, D-Swissvale, warned that powerful forces were trying to divide the country.
“Authoritarianism needs silence, a people who don’t know their power,” she said, predicting that “things are going to get ugly” before an authoritarianism trend is reversed.
“The country you all have known maybe doesn’t exist anymore,” she said. “But the country in your hearts is what we’re fighting for.”
Nationwide, the No Kings movement said it was organizing 2,500 Saturday events nationwide. Besides the marquee event Downtown, local affiliates announced events in Allegheny Center, Point Breeze, Mt. Lebanon, McCandless, Coraopolis, Sewickley, Robinson and the county seats of most of Allegheny County’s neighbors.
The Downtown event was organized by Indivisible Pittsburgh with Indivisible Black Neighborhoods United, the Black Political Empowerment Project, 1Hood Power, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, Casa San Jose, Progress PA, Stand Up For Science, the League of Women Voters, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the Coalition of Labor Union Women.
Photo gallery: People gather and march during the No Kings day of protests against President Donald Trump through downtown Pittsburgh, Oct. 18. (Photos by Quinn Glabicki/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)
Public safety workers estimated that a No Kings gathering near Allegheny Center drew around 3,000 people, and the Downtown event appeared to be several times larger.
Attendee Maria Eshelman, of Allison Park, said she joined the protest because she “doesn’t like what’s going on.” She said she didn’t vote for Trump in any election but that his second administration “is even more alarming.”
She said she had family members who fought in World War II against fascism and that she and the others are also fighting fascism now.
“I have children and grandchildren and I want them to live in a free democracy.”
She noted the administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and actions, taking place in a country built on immigration. “It’s hypocritical to kick immigrants out of this country.”
Photo gallery: People spilled into the streets beyond the City-County Building for a No Kings protests, Downtown. (Photos by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)
Republicans have sought to associate the No Kings events with the ongoing government shutdown and tie it to extremism.
House Speaker Mike Johnson this week dubbed the event the “Hate America rally” at a news conference on Wednesday. Some state leaders, including Texas’ Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, have decided to activate the National Guard ahead of the protests.
Reaction from the right appeared to be muted by late afternoon. Trump was reported to be staying at home at Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, summarized the day’s big takeaway, saying, “peaceful protest is an American thing,” and “we don’t mess around with kings.”
Pushing back in ways large and small
An SEIU leader’s mention of U.S. Sen John Fetterman brought boos. The leader accused him of failing to show backbone in the Democrats’ fight to protect healthcare benefits. Fetterman, a Democrat from Braddock, has occasionally voted with Republicans including in relation to ending the ongoing federal government shutdown. Fetterman did not appear to be in attendance.
For the most part, speakers focused on countering Trump, both broadly and in specific policy areas.
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato told the crowd, “we are keeping the National Guard off these streets” through legal action against the administration. Pennsylvania has joined a multistate lawsuit aiming to keep Trump from further domestic deployments of the Guard.
“We found the money to keep refugees and immigrants in Allegheny County,” Innamorato added, referring to county efforts to fill gaps in funding for programs defunded by Trump.
ACLU Legal Director Vic Walczak took to a stage accompanied by a Trump puppet. He told the crowd that the president’s domestic actions constituted an invasion of America.
“Democracy only works if we can criticize our government,” he said. He told the crowd to study resistance movements to oppressive government across the world and emphasized the importance of keeping resistance nonviolent, but “loud, proud and persistent.”
Deluzio called for the elimination of Super PACs which funnel unlimited funds into political races and called on the administration to “release the Epstein files.”
Soon after, protesters moved through Downtown toward Mellon Square, chanting, “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA.”
Anti-Trump mobilization largely peaceful
National news reports indicated that as of late afternoon, most protests had the feel of large, left-leaning street parties.
The protests built upon the June emergence of the No Kings coalition, which sought then to overshadow a parade ordered by President Donald Trump for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, held on his 79th birthday. Confrontations then were isolated and the protests were largely peaceful.
Ezra Levin, co-executive director of the nonprofit Indivisible and a leading national organizer of Saturday’s protests, pointed this week to Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, his unprecedented promises to use federal power to influence midterm elections, restrictions on press freedom and retribution against political opponents, characterizing them as a direct threat to constitutionally protected rights.
Concerns about large political demonstrations remain heightened since conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated during a speaking event last month.
Photo gallery: People gather Allegheny Center as part of the No Kings nationwide series of rallies against the Trump administration, Oct. 18, on the North Side. (Photos by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)
No Kings organizers have emphasized what they call “a shared commitment to nonviolent protest and community safety.” The No Kings organizers have led numerous virtual safety trainings ahead of to the protests with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is listed as an official partner on the No Kings website.
The trainings informed viewers about their rights during protests and emphasized de-escalation techniques for encounters with law enforcement.
Each official protest had a safety plan, which included designated medics and emergency meeting spots.
Eric Jankiewicz is Pittsburgh Public Source’s economic development reporter and can be reached at ericj@publicsource.org.
Quinn Glabicki is the environment and climate reporter at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. He can be reached at quinn@publicsource.org and on Instagram @quinnglabicki.
Stephanie Strasburg is a photojournalist with Pittsburgh’s Public Source who can be reached at stephanie@publicsource.org, on Instagram @stephaniestrasburg or on Twitter @stephstrasburg.
The Associated Press contributed.
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