Tens of thousands of demonstrators flooded Washington, D.C.’s Pennsylvania Avenue, the National Mall, and the vast expanse between the Capitol and the White House on Saturday for the No Kings Rally, a peaceful nationwide protest opposing President Donald Trump’s authoritarian takeover of the United States. More than 2,500 rallies have been planned today across the country.
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Under a mild and sunny October sky, a diverse lineup of speakers, from senators to scientists to artists, addressed the massive crowd from behind bulletproof glass, a sobering sign of the times after the recent assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, which has heightened security at political events nationwide.
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The rally, which began at noon and was scheduled to run until 2 p.m. with some 100,000 participants, featured speeches by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, science educator Bill Nye, and LGBTQ+ leaders, including Human Rights Campaign Chief of Staff Jay Brown and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness Shawn Skelly.
“This is my country too”
“My name is Jay Brown. I am chief of staff for the Human Rights Campaign,” Brown told the crowd. “And I am a proud transgender American who is here to say that this is my country too.”
His twin sister watched from the crowd as Brown recounted their upbringing.
“When we were growing up, she fit the mold of who others imagined we’d be. I broke that mold,” he said. “But our parents loved us both just the same. We didn’t know anybody transgender — we didn’t even know the word — but they gave me the love and support I needed to thrive all the same.”
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Now a father, Brown said, “That is what freedom looks like — the freedom to live, to be, and to raise our families as we see fit.”
He warned of a “darker vision for America” under Trump, “where families are told how to parent their children,” “where doctors are forced to ignore their oaths,” and “where the government is ripping apart families and hurting our people — cutting funding for HIV treatment, banning our books, and firing teachers who use a student’s nickname.”
Brown closed with a rallying cry that swept across the crowd: “America does not and will never have a king!”
“No one is above their oath”
Following Brown, Skelly, a retired Navy commander and one of the first out transgender officials to serve in a Senate-confirmed Pentagon post, took the stage.
“My name is Shawn Skelly,” she said. “I’m a Navy veteran, a former appointee at the Department of Defense, and proud to serve on the board of the Human Rights Campaign. And whether this administration likes it or not, I am an out and proud trans woman who loves her country and will fight for it with all I have.”
Holding up a copy of the Constitution, she reminded the audience that every service member swears an oath “not to a political party, not to a president, and certainly not to a king.”
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“I’ve been proud to serve alongside hundreds of transgender service members who’ve carried the weight of freedom on their shoulders, even while their own government debated their right to exist,” Skelly said. “They deserve so much better.”
Skelly warned that the rollback of LGBTQ+ rights mirrors broader democratic decay. In an interview last week with The Advocate, she said, “Trans people are the canary in the coal mine — but the air is getting thin for everyone.” Her remarks onstage echoed that warning. “When we say no kings, we mean no one is above their oath to our Constitution. No one is above accountability. And no one gets to turn our democracy into a personal throne.”
“No thrones! No crowns! No kings!”
Murphy called Trump “the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America,” warning that “he is enacting a detailed, step-by-step plan to try to destroy all of the things that protect our democracy: free speech, fair elections, an independent press, the right to peacefully protest.” He added, “But the truth is, he has not won yet. The people still rule in this country.”
Sanders also addressed the crowd, urging continued resistance to authoritarianism and corporate power.
Nye, known to millions as “The Science Guy,” compared Trump to King George III, the British monarch who lost the American colonies. Nye accused the administration of rejecting “basic scientific facts” and suppressing research “to the detriment of our health, well-being, and international competitiveness.” He concluded, “No thrones! No crowns! No kings!”
Despite heightened security and the somber backdrop of recent violence, the No Kings Rally remained peaceful. Chants of “No kings!” rolled through the crowd as rainbow flags and American flags waved side by side.
Brown and Skelly’s speeches positioned transgender equality within the larger fight for democratic integrity. “LGBTQ+ people live in every ZIP code and are from every background,” Brown said. “We were born here, and we immigrated here. We come from red families and blue families. And we are here to say this is our America too.”
Charlie Kirk DID say stoning gay people was the 'perfect law' — and these other heinous quotes