Handmade signs, colorful costumes and political chants filled Ypsilanti’s Depot Town as thousands gathered for the city’s first No Kings protest on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. Ypsilanti attendees joined protesters across the country who united for a nationwide demonstration against the Donald Trump administration.
At least 4,000 people joined the Ypsilanti protest, said Gordon McAllister, founder of Ypsi Indivisible. The protest was co-organized by Ypsi Indivisible and Ann Arbor Indivisible, a pro-democracy advocacy group.
McAllister said the group’s mission is to grow resistance against authoritarianism in the United States and support other similar groups in the Ypsilanti area.
Saturday’s protest marked the second national No Kings demonstration, a nonviolent, peaceful movement that rejects what organizers call an authoritarian reach from the Trump administration.
“Our mission is to slow, block and defeat Trump,” said Gus Teschke, an organizer for Ann Arbor Indivisible. “We reject authoritarian power grabs.“
Locals join the march
Attendees gathered at Riverside Park before starting on Cross Street, marching along the sidewalk down North Huron Street, East Michigan Avenue and back up North River Street around the park. Protesters chanted slogans, such as “This is what democracy looks like” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go.”
Eastern Michigan University sophomore Lilly Yax joined the Ypsilanti protest, citing frustrations with the Trump administration. Yax encouraged others to stand up and use their voice.
“I hope that people who are neutral or people who are staying quiet about what’s happening will decide to speak up so that we can make real change, because change starts from the people,” Yax said.
Some protesters held signs criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Trump's deployment of the National Guard to some U.S. cities. Others held signs supporting the rights of women, the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants and other groups.
Another attendee, Cassidi Shambre, is a teacher in Taylor, Michigan, who joined the protest to demonstrate what democracy looks like to a younger generation.
“It is important for me to show my children what it looks like to protect democracy, especially because I am a teacher and I believe that it is our right as adults to model appropriate behavior for our kids,” Shambre said.
“We shouldn’t lose hope,” Shambre added. “A lot of people can stand together to make a change, and if we all work together, hopefully we can vote [Trump] out.”
Protesters were instructed to remain on the sidewalk by marshals from the Indivisible group, who are trained in de-escalation techniques and safety, McAllister said. However, another group of protesters who were separate from the No Kings group but holding similar signs and chanting similar slogans took to the street to march, blocking vehicle traffic. This group encouraged others to step into the road and join them, saying, "Off the sidewalk and into the streets."
About 500 people moved to the street, McAllister estimated. He said that the group that initiated the move to the street was separate from the Indivisible group and this was not a move approved by organizers of the No Kings protest.
Local, state officials weigh in
Washtenaw County Commissioner and former member of the Michigan House of Representatives Yousef Rabhi (D) attended the No Kings protest. Rabhi said one of the most important things people can do right now is show up and rally against what he calls a fascist takeover of the government by the Trump administration.
"Whether it's defying our court system and acting with impunity in that way, whether it's violating our Constitution by raiding people's homes and unlawfully conducting searches and seizures, there are so many different examples of how this administration is abusing their power and conducting themselves in the way of tyrants and kings, and that's the whole point of this 'no kings,'" Rabhi said.
Rabhi said showing up and rallying through demonstrations such as No Kings is a time-honored tradition of democracy.
"In America, we fought a revolution to overthrow the shackles of a monarchy, and now, here we are, almost 250 years later, with an individual who is in the Oval Office who acts like a king in defiance of our laws, so that's why we're here today, to say that's absolutely unacceptable and we are going to push back and do everything we can to hold him and his administration accountable," Rabhi said.
Michigan State Senator Jeff Irwin (D) also joined in support of Saturday's protest.
"I'm out here joining all these folks to protest against the authoritarianism and anti-democratic actions of the federal government," Irwin said. "I'm worried about the future of free and fair elections in the United States, and as an elected official in this area, I felt it was important for me to be here and to support the idea that government officials should be elected."
Editor's note: This story has been updated on Oct. 19, 2025, to include the most up-to-date estimate of attendees at the Ypsilanti No Kings protest.
