Inflatable Frogs, Visible Dissent Fill Seattle Center for 'No Kings' Rally

An estimated 90,000 people showed up at Seattle Center and marched through downtown Seattle on Oct. 18 to show their support for what many view as President Donald Trump's embrace of authoritarianism and assault on democracy. Inspired by the anti-ICE protests in Portland, people came dressed in inflatable costumes and carried homemade signs. Attendees expressed numerous grievances and said they attended the rally to decry the use of the U.S. military in American cities, the weaponization of the Department of Justice, the denial of due process to undocumented immigrants, and the defunding of the health care system.

U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal gave an impassioned speech about how easy it would be for people to throw up their hands and ignore Trump's "dehumanization of trans people, and immigrants, and Black people and poor people." Instead, Jayapal said, millions of people across the country were gathering to say, "We will not back down, we will not give in, we will not capitulate. We are the people's movement that will save our democracy."

An estimated 7 million people in the U.S. participated in more than 2,500 "No Kings" demonstrations. Millions more attended rallies in solidarity with the U.S. in more than a dozen foreign countries.