A massive crowd gathered in front of the Municipal Building on October 18 at 2 p.m. to protest the actions of the Trump administration. This second No Kings protest was similar to the first No Kings protest in June, which was scheduled for the same day as the U.S. Army parade on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday. This time there were even more attendees.
Protesters brought signs with phrases such as “stop deporting my neighbors,” “get ICE out of Greenbelt,” “rule of law matters” and “don’t dismantle democracy.” Other common themes included mocking claims that the protesters were paid to be there, as well as calling out Trump’s close friendship with known child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. One protester in an Elvis costume held a sign that read “No kings except for Elvis.” There were many other costumes, and a few people even showed up wearing inflatable frog and chicken costumes. Frogs became a nationwide symbol of anti-fascist resistance earlier this month due to a group in Portland, Ore., who have been protesting in front of an ICE facility for the past few weeks while wearing inflatable frog costumes.
At the Municipal Building, a megaphone was passed around to several organizers and residents to lead chants, give safety reminders and explain that the group would be split and head to two locations. Roughly 200 protesters were led by the Greenbelt Honk! Situation band to the Spellman overpass over the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, and another 200 or so walked to where Greenbelt Road crosses the parkway and passes Southway. Spirits were high as cars honked, people waved and gave thumbs up at the protesters. Unlike the first No Kings protest in Greenbelt, the police did not feel the need to escort the protest or direct traffic.
Later in the day, after the protests, Trump responded with a post on Truth Social. In the AI-generated video, Trump wears a crown in the cockpit of a fighter jet, takes off, then dumps liquid feces over crowds of people protesting in various cities. This is not the first time Trump’s administration has depicted him wearing a crown. Last February, months before the first No Kings protest, the official White House account on X (formerly known as Twitter) posted an AI-generated image of Trump wearing a crown, with a caption that included the phrase “Long live the king!” The post is still up and visible.
Greenbelt’s No Kings protest was a part of a larger nationwide protest. In June there were about five million people in attendance nationwide, which was the third largest protest in U.S. history, only to be beaten by this October No Kings protest which organizers estimate drew approximately seven million participants in over 2,700 locations. The No Kings protests were planned with help from progressive grassroots groups and other larger organizations, including 50501, Indivisible, the Democratic Socialists of America and the American Civil Liberties Union.
