Thousands expected in Champaign County for nationwide No Kings Day of Action
Saturday’s No Kings rally in Urbana is another call for citizen engagement and preservation of American constitutional rights.
URBANA - East central Illinois residents will once again gather at the Champaign County Courthouse this Saturday, Oct. 18, joining millions nationwide for the second No Kings Day of Action - a coordinated, nonviolent protest aimed at defending democracy and constitutional freedoms in the face of what organizers call rising authoritarianism.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
The local rally, set to begin at noon at 101 E. Main St. in Urbana, mirrors demonstrations taking place in cities across the country. The event will feature speeches from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign law professor Faye E. Jones, UIUC Student Body President Gabi DalSanto, and Cunningham Township Supervisor Danielle Chynoweth. Following the program, attendees will march a designated route through downtown Urbana, supported by local law enforcement and city officials.
“Our Founding Fathers guaranteed us the right to free speech and to assembly peacefully to protest our government’s actions,” said Tracey Dougan, co-lead of Champaign County Indivisible and emcee of Saturday’s rally. “No one can take that away from us. Join us in exercising your Constitutionally protected rights. Add your voice to the fight. It will take all of us. Now is the time.”
The event is co-organized by several advocacy and political groups, including the ACLU of Champaign County, ACLU of Illinois, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action Champaign-Urbana, Champaign County Democrats, Champaign-Urbana Resistance Effort (CURE), Indivisible Illinois, Indivisible Vermilion County, Illini Democrats, and Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA).
“In a time when pessimism runs rampant, our resistance through protesting becomes indispensable,” said Matthew Hurtado, YDSA outreach coordinator.
The movement’s momentum follows the first No Kings rally held in Urbana on June 14, when more than 3,000 people filled downtown streets as part of what became the largest single-day protest of the summer. That event — one of over 2,000 nationwide — drew participants of all ages and backgrounds. Protesters carried an array of flags and signs, united under a shared message opposing former President Donald Trump’s policies and what they saw as a consolidation of power within the executive branch.
Local leaders at the June rally, including Urbana Mayor DeShawn Williams, community organizer Mica Light, and activist Ricardo Diaz, emphasized unity, civic engagement, and the defense of civil liberties. Volunteers handed out bottled water under the hot sun as participants marched peacefully through downtown streets, chanting and waving signs calling for democracy and accountability.
This is about reclaiming our voice and protecting our democracy.
“Somewhere around 3,000 people turned out at the courthouse as part of a larger movement rejecting authoritarianism and the president’s attempted consolidation of power,” said Jeff Dougan, organizer with Indivisible Champaign County, following the June event. “We the people have rejected a king once before, and we’re uniting our voices today to say, ‘not again.’”
Saturday’s No Kings rally comes amid ongoing controversy surrounding President Trump’s efforts to deploy or federalize National Guard troops in several U.S. cities. Since the start of his second term, the administration has either sent or discussed sending troops to 11 cities — including Chicago, Portland, New York, Baltimore, Memphis, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Oakland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Those deployments have prompted legal challenges from Democratic mayors and governors who argue the moves overstep federal authority. In rulings in Chicago and Portland, judges have temporarily blocked the use of military personnel for arrests, crowd control, or other domestic law enforcement activities, citing constitutional concerns.
Organizers of Saturday’s event say these developments only strengthen their resolve. “This is about reclaiming our voice and protecting our democracy,” Dougan said. “The people have a right — and a duty — to be heard.”
For more information about the local No Kings Day of Action rally, email ChampaignCountyIndivisible@gmail.com or visit Champaign County Indivisible on Facebook, Instagram, or Bluesky.
