I'm an independent with a conservative slant on some issues.
No Kings was not what you described. It was funded and organized by socialist groups and foreign entities to sow division. It was not a grass roots, organic collection of folks.
Minneapolis opposition was the same thing.
But I'm not equating No Kings with BLM in terms of the violence and rioting that happened. I'm equating them in terms of their funding, goals, and desired outcomes.
In what ways did I wrongly describe No Kings events? Unions by nature are socialist groups. You are correct there were foreign entities which were involved in No Kings. BTW foreign entity can be nothing more than a business, corporation or just a group of people outside the country. No Kings was also grassroots event. To say it was organic implies the event was spontaneous, which for most people it was not. So, I agree, it was not organic for the most part.
Seven million people participated in the "No Kings" protests in the United States on October 18, 2025. This was an increase of approximately 2 million who participated in the June 2025 event. It was one of the most attended demonstrations in American history. There were rallies in 2,700 cities in 50 states. Among other locations there were major turnouts in D.C., NY, and Oregon, etc. There was already huge political and ideological division in the U.S. before the No Kings events. A division that is likely to get even larger over the next 8 1/2 months. And there is a growing division within the Republican party.
While more specific, the Minneapolis opposition which took place in January 2026 was in fact similar to the No Kings events. A "No Kings 3.0" protest against perceived authoritarianism and advocating for civil liberties is scheduled for late March this year.
Several major labor unions organized No Kings events. One of them was the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) represents approximately 2 million members across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Another large union was The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) which represents over 1.8 million members nationwide. Locally, Oregon Education Association (OEA) organized No Kings Events. They have over 40,000 members. Another union involved in the No Kings events was the Communications Workers of America (CWA) which represents approximately 700,000 workers in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) which represents over 820,000 workers participated in No Kings events. Under the AFGE umbrella Major is the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Social Security Administration (SSA), Department of Defense (DOD), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). AFGE is actively involved in nationwide "No Kings" rallies, protesting against executive actions that threaten the federal workforce. In addition, there were multiple private-sector labor unions and labor-affiliated groups which were heavily involved in organizing and participating in the "No Kings" protests throughout 2025.
Yes, there were foreign entities involved which primarily consisted of solidarity demonstrations organized by expat groups and local activists in over 20 countries, rather than direct foreign government involvement in organizing the U.S. protests.
