No Kings protests return to New York City for third time as nationwide mobilisation targets Trump administration policies

Tens of thousands of New Yorkers are expected to take to the streets across all five boroughs on Saturday as the No Kings movement holds its third citywide day of action, part of a nationally coordinated series of protests targeting the policies and conduct of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Demonstrations are scheduled at dozens of locations across New York City on Saturday, March 28, 2026, with a central mass march assembling on 7th Avenue at Central Park South before proceeding south through Midtown Manhattan. The gathering point sits just blocks from Trump Tower. Separate mobilisations are planned in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighbourhood, Washington Heights in upper Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island, where organisers have positioned an event near the offices of Representative Nicole Malliotakis, the city’s only Republican member of Congress.

The New York City mobilisation marks the third iteration of No Kings protests in the city since the movement emerged in 2025. Previous demonstrations drew an estimated 20,000 participants during an initial Manhattan march and more than 100,000 at the October 2025 citywide event, according to New York Police Department figures. Organisers of Saturday’s demonstration are expecting at least 20,000 people at the central midtown rally alone.

Robert De Niro, Reverend Al Sharpton, and New York Attorney General Letitia James are among the confirmed speakers at the Midtown Manhattan rally. The event is one of nine official No Kings gatherings planned across New York City’s five boroughs, with additional gathering points in Brooklyn at Garfield Place near Prospect Park West, in the Bronx at Grand Concourse and East 161st Street, and in three locations across Queens, including MacDonald Park, Rockaway Beach Amphitheater, and Fresh Meadows.

On Staten Island, organisers from the Staten Island Action Coalition have framed the local protest as an effort to reach residents who support the broader movement but are unlikely to travel to Manhattan for demonstrations. Laura McCarthy, a founding member of the Staten Island Action Coalition, said each previous No Kings protest on the island had drawn a larger crowd than the one before it.

What is the No Kings movement and how did it begin in the United States?

The No Kings movement was founded and named by the 50501 Movement, a progressive grassroots political organisation that describes itself as an abbreviation for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement. The organisation began as a Reddit post in late January 2025, gaining traction rapidly across social media before established civic organisations joined the effort. The name draws on Colonial American history, specifically the rejection of King George III’s rule over the American colonies, and has been applied by organisers as a direct counterpoint to what they describe as executive overreach under President Donald Trump.

The first No Kings protest was held on June 14, 2025, deliberately timed to coincide with the United States Army’s 250th Anniversary Parade in Washington, D.C., and with President Trump’s 79th birthday. Organisers chose to hold demonstrations everywhere except Washington, D.C., in order to avoid direct confrontation at the military parade site. Across approximately 2,100 locations nationwide, organisers estimated more than five million people participated, which was described at the time as the largest single-day protest in United States history. The second No Kings mobilisation, held on October 18, 2025, expanded to approximately 2,700 locations and drew an estimated seven million participants nationally, surpassing the June figures.

The No Kings Coalition, the broader organising body, brings together more than 200 organisations including Indivisible, MoveOn, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Federation of Teachers, Public Citizen, the Service Employees International Union, and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. Indivisible, co-founded by Leah Greenberg, has served as a primary institutional coordinator across all three protest events.

Why did the phrase ‘No Kings’ take hold in New York City in particular?

The phrase gained specific resonance in New York City after President Trump posted on his Truth Social platform in February 2025 in reference to congestion pricing in Manhattan, declaring in capital letters that congestion pricing was dead and adding the phrase ‘Long Live the King.’ The Trump administration subsequently sought to block the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from continuing to operate the congestion pricing scheme, but a federal judge approved the authority’s continued operation. The royal language in the President’s social media post is widely credited with amplifying the No Kings slogan among New York City demonstrators.

What are the main grievances driving participants in the March 28, 2026 protests?

Participants and organisers have cited a range of policy concerns motivating Saturday’s mobilisation. Central among them are the conduct and scale of operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including the deaths of United States citizens Renee Good, Keith Porter, and Alex Pretti during immigration enforcement actions earlier in 2026. The war with Iran, described by multiple organisers as illegal and catastrophic, along with rising fuel costs and a deteriorating economic outlook attributed to the conflict, have also been identified as primary grievances. Federal funding cuts to welfare programmes, Medicaid, Social Security, and educational institutions, as well as what demonstrators describe as the deployment of secret police tactics against communities, have further motivated participation.

In New York City specifically, demonstrators have pointed to the Trump administration’s pursuit of an indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James, the defunding of major transit infrastructure projects including the Second Avenue subway extension, and the deployment of federal personnel to major cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland as additional flashpoints driving participation. Concerns over freedom of speech, civil rights, and voting rights have featured prominently in protest messaging prepared by the No Kings coalition.

How large is the nationwide No Kings 3 mobilisation scheduled for March 28, 2026?

As of the day of the demonstrations, organisers reported more than 3,200 confirmed protest events in every congressional district in the United States, as well as events across six of the seven continents worldwide. The figure represents an increase from approximately 2,700 locations at the October 2025 mobilisation. Texas, Florida, and Ohio have each scheduled more than 100 events individually. States including Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah are each hosting events in double digits, which organisers have described as significant given their traditionally Republican voter bases.

Indivisible co-executive director Leah Greenberg noted that approximately 66 percent of planned events are located outside major urban centres, up by nearly 40 percent compared with the first No Kings Day of Action in June 2025. Organisers and independent analysts have described the March 28, 2026 mobilisation as a potential candidate for the largest single-day domestic political protest in United States history, surpassing the October 2025 total of an estimated seven million participants.

The flagship event for the national mobilisation is located in St. Paul, Minnesota, near Minneapolis, where federal immigration enforcement agents fatally shot two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in January 2026. The Minnesota rally is expected to feature performances and speeches by musicians Bruce Springsteen and Joan Baez, actor and activist Jane Fonda, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. The New York City rally, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles are also expected to draw very large crowds based on participation figures from prior events.

How has the demographic profile of No Kings protest participants shifted since June 2025?

Research conducted by American University and affiliated with the nonpartisan Brookings Institution has tracked demographic trends across the successive No Kings protests. Surveys conducted at the January 2025 People’s March found that approximately 77 percent of participants were women. By the October 2025 No Kings mobilisation, that proportion had declined to 57 percent, indicating a broadening of participation across gender lines. The shift in racial composition was described by researchers as less pronounced, though still present.

Indivisible organisers have pointed to surges in registrations from suburban and battleground districts as evidence that protest participation is extending beyond the progressive base into groups that more closely resemble the broader electorate. The movement has also reported increased activity in Republican-held congressional districts and conservative states, with organisers suggesting the protests are becoming a vehicle for voters who are not traditionally aligned with progressive causes.

What security arrangements are in place for the New York City No Kings protests on March 28?

The New York Police Department has confirmed it will deploy adequate security to ensure participants can safely exercise their First Amendment rights at Saturday’s events. The NYPD’s planned deployment comes in the context of elevated security conditions in the city following the seizure of improvised explosive devices during a protest near Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the Mayor of New York, in the weeks prior to the march. Additionally, since the start of the United States military conflict with Iran, the New York Police Department has increased counter-terrorism resources across the city, including heavy weapons teams, canine units, and aviation support.

The No Kings coalition has issued guidance to all participants to seek to de-escalate potential confrontations and to act lawfully at all events. Nonviolent and lawful protest is described as a core principle across all No Kings events, and local organisers have been trained in de-escalation and community safety protocols. At prior New York City No Kings events, the New York Police Department reported no protest-related arrests.

How has the Trump administration and Republican leadership responded to the No Kings movement?

President Trump publicly opposed the original No Kings protests in June 2025, stating that he did not consider himself a king and warning that people who protest at the Army parade in Washington, D.C., would be met with very significant force. The administration was ultimately unsuccessful in its effort to halt New York City’s congestion pricing scheme, which a federal court approved continuing to operate.

Republican legislators have expressed a range of reactions. Representative Pete Stauber, whose district in northern Minnesota includes the area where federal immigration agents fatally shot United States citizens in January 2026, issued a statement defending the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and trade policy. The president of the Utah State Senate, Stuart Adams, acknowledged public frustration but said he believed it was premature to criticise administration policies before their effects had been fully realised. Representative Nicole Malliotakis, near whose Staten Island office Saturday’s local demonstration is positioned, has not commented publicly on the March 28 protests.

Key takeaways on what the No Kings 3 protests mean for the United States, New York City, and the Trump administration

• The No Kings 3 mobilisation on March 28, 2026, is the third nationally coordinated protest organised by the No Kings Coalition, which includes Indivisible, MoveOn, 50501, the ACLU, and more than 200 other organisations. With over 3,200 events confirmed across every United States congressional district and six continents, organisers and independent analysts have described it as a potential candidate for the largest single-day domestic protest in United States history.
• New York City is hosting at least nine official No Kings events across all five boroughs, including a central mass march near Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan. Confirmed speakers at the main rally include New York Attorney General Letitia James, Robert De Niro, and Reverend Al Sharpton. Previous New York City No Kings demonstrations drew an estimated 100,000 participants in October 2025, according to New York Police Department figures.
• The primary grievances cited by participants and organisers include Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations resulting in the deaths of United States citizens, the United States military conflict with Iran, federal welfare and education funding cuts, and what demonstrators characterise as the consolidation of executive authority. In New York City, the Trump administration’s pursuit of an indictment against Attorney General Letitia James and the defunding of transit projects are additional focal points.
• Research affiliated with the Brookings Institution shows the demographic profile of No Kings participants is broadening, with the proportion of women falling from 77 percent at the January 2025 People’s March to 57 percent at the October 2025 event, and with two-thirds of March 28 RSVPs coming from outside major urban centres, up nearly 40 percent from the first protest in June 2025.
• The New York Police Department has confirmed security deployments for Saturday’s events under elevated counter-terrorism protocols linked to recent incidents near Gracie Mansion and the ongoing United States conflict with Iran. The No Kings coalition has directed all participants to act lawfully and to de-escalate any confrontations. No protest-related arrests were recorded at previous New York City No Kings events.