Don't Rain on Parades
Thousands turn out for No Kings rally in Los Angeles,
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I took the Metro train into downtown Los Angeles for yesterday's No Kings protest outside city hall. I felt awkward wearing my plate carrier with my goggles and gas mask hanging from me. On any other day it would scream, “I am afraid of public transit,” but today it screamed, “I am press, and covering protests is a full contact sport thanks to the cops.” The train was packed elbow to elbow, with some taking up more room with their handcrafted costumes and signs.
I was a bit on edge going into yesterday's rally. Two days before the event, the city asked a federal judge to lift the injunction against the LAPD that prevents them from shooting journalists. It got the ire of city council, who filed a motion asking the city to withdraw the filing and called out the city attorney for going over their heads. The judge rejected the motion, but it didn't stop the department from likely violating the injunction later on that evening.
The 90-degree October heat pounded down on everyone as they stood shoulder to shoulder in Grand Park. The population of inflatable animals in the crowd hit 50 before I lost count. Sharks and unicorns were the most popular, with a few rubber chickens wandering around. The standout animal was, of course, the frog. The animal became an overnight mascot for the anti-Trump movement across the country after an inflatable frog was filmed staring down ICE agents while girating outside the ICE detention center in Portland, Oregon. The playful absurdity makes the armed, militarized tough guys look stupid. Which they are.
It's unclear what the air circulation situation was inside the inflatable suits, but I did talk to a couple who were peeling themselves out of theirs at the end of the march. They were wearing their sopping wet shirts with pride when they told me it was indeed hot in the suits, but it didn't hinder their ability or enthusiasm to participate in the march.
Both Boston's and Chicago's mayors were present at their city's No Kings events yesterday. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called out Trump's use of military troops in Chicago and elsewhere in the country. He told the crowd, "We will not bend. We will not bow. We will not cower. We will not submit to the authoritarianism that is coming down." His largest pop from the crowd came after he called for a general strike against the rich and corporations to make them pay their fair share in taxes. Now we're cooking.
The crowd in Los Angeles didn't get a rousing speech from the mayor, who was absent from the event to attend the 20th Annual Taste of Soul Family Festival to talk about showcasing art and culture at LAX.
Thousands of people marched and snaked through downtown Los Angeles. I stood on the sidelines and took stock of the costumes and signs in the crowd. An older woman wore a cape that said antifa on the back, a “group” the current administration designated as a domestic terrorist organization. Others held signs that called for ICE to be abolished and compared them to the Gestapo. One person had crafted a Cava bag to wear around himself with dollar bills glued along the sides. The protesters displayed a tone that trended more towards Bernie Sanders than it did Kamala Harris.
It's easy to dismiss the No Kings protests as empty political action that does little to effect change. That assessment isn't entirely inaccurate, but it mischaracterizes the bigger purpose of yesterday's event. Yes, marches and rallies are spectacles, but they are also places to connect with people who are just as angry as you. Solidarity is important if you want to build a mass movement for change.
More importantly, people are also allowed to have fun.
The issue is when the work stops there. What's needed is grassroots organizing to capture the leftward curiousity going on right now. Organizers can't let people put the signs away and disengage from the political process. For those on the further left of things, now is the time to educate folks on the importance of mutual aid or abolition. Walk people through what a general strike would look like or how to organize their workplace.
The Overton Window is wide open; don't let impotent Democrats nail it shut again.🔨
No Kings and protest outside Metropolitian Detention Center. 10/18/25. Credit: Joey Scot
Part of yesterday's reporting and today's story was sponsored by Ben, Kari, and Elenor who supported my work by donating to me on Ko-Fi. You can do the same here 👇
