A crowd estimated at more than 3,000 people participates in a No Kings protest on Oct. 18, 2025, in downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
About 3,500 people gathered in downtown Sioux Falls on Saturday for the latest No Kings protest — making it the city’s largest protest so far this year, according to organizer crowd estimates.
The protest was the 13th in South Dakota for the day, organizer Craig Brown with Indivisible 605 said. Protesters gathered to listen to speakers, display homemade signs and chant “this is what democracy looks like” and “we love America; that’s why we’re here,” and call for President Donald Trump “to go.”
Brown said the turnout is a testament to the movement’s momentum and people’s anger at the Trump administration.
“There’s a sense of commitment in this crowd that we haven’t felt before,” Brown said.
More than 2,600 No Kings rallies with millions in attendance took place across the country on Saturday. The second No Kings day, following the first in June, is in response to what a broad coalition of liberal advocacy and labor organizations say is “the increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption of the Trump administration, which they have doubled down on since June.”
Lexi Pratt, of Sioux Falls, brought her daughter to the No Kings protest in Sioux Falls, saying that she “could not, in good conscience, be a good parent” without standing up when she sees something wrong. She’s concerned about women’s health care and the Trump administration’s “attack on our public education.”
“The Trump administration is violating all the checks and balances that our country was founded on to ensure that we all have the same rights,” Pratt said.
Jody Fleischhacker, of Sioux Falls, wore a frog hat — a symbol of resistance after a Portland protester wearing an inflatable frog costume was sprayed with chemicals through his costume’s air vent by a federal agent earlier this month.
Fleischhacker, who is an Air Force veteran, said she attended both No Kings protests in Sioux Falls this year because she believes Trump is unsuitable for office and should be removed.
“He’s made changes that are hurting his own people,” Fleischhacker said. “He wants to build a big, beautiful ballroom and yet take away our health care and take away food benefits to people who need them.”
The turnout exceeded organizers’ expectations despite a police investigation into a suspicious vehicle that was viewed as a potential explosives threat at the site of the protest the night before. The area was shut down to the public between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. before police determined there were no explosives in the area.
A counter protest, dubbed the Real American Rally, was held during the same time a block away from the No Kings protest. It drew about 30 people.
John Small, an organizer of the counter protest, said the gathering was intended to be positive and show “love for the country we live in.”
“I understand there are people who don’t like our current president. I understand that they want their voices heard. That’s great. But I don’t know how this is going to help,” Small said, referring to the No Kings protest. “Do they think there is going to be something to come from this?”
Brown said he sees the No Kings movement continuing up until the 2026 elections. That could impact midterm elections and turnout to create “real, sustained pushback against this regime.”
But the real impact of Saturday’s protest is a continued effort to build community, Brown added.
“Maybe I look across the crowd and I see my neighbor who I had no idea they feel like I do. Maybe I go and talk to them and we connect. We decide to go to a city council or county commission meeting we’re concerned about together,” Brown said. “Those are touch points that we’re seeing in real time. This is working.”
