Approximately 500 people braved soggy, and at times stormy, weather to participate in the “No Kings” protest held Oct. 18 in Hillsboro, organizer Maranda Akers said.
The Hillsboro demonstration was one of about 2,600 protests reportedly held that day across the U.S. Numerous news outlets say nearly 7 million took part in the protests around the country last weekend.
About 7,000 people participated in rallies in west St. Louis County and more than 4,000 gathered in south St. Louis County on the same day, according to Indivisible St. Louis, a nonprofit anti-President Donald Trump organization. Thousands more reportedly protested in downtown St. Louis.
Akers, 30, of Hillsboro said organizers never discussed calling off the Jefferson County protest despite the constant rain and occasional thunderstorms.
“It was amazing having 500 people in the rain, thunder and lightning,” she said. “I feel like it motivated people a little bit more. There were cheers going on through the thunder. It was awesome.
“At no point did we say we weren’t going out there. We were going to stand up for democracy, rain or shine.”
The group gathered at the Jefferson County Courthouse before marching to the intersection of Main Street and Business 21. The group then returned to the Courthouse before dispersing.
This was the third “No Kings” protest held across the country since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January. In April, the national demonstrations, focused against Trump and Elon Musk’s government cuts, garnered 1,300 registered locations for protests. In June, the demonstration, a counter to Trump’s military parade, prompted 2,100 events.
“This movement is about protecting democracy,” Akers said. “Even in small towns, we care about democracy. We just want to make sure no one, not even a president, is above the law. We don’t have kings in America. That is the principle of our entire movement.”
Akers said local No Kings participants were protesting numerous governmental actions taken at both the national and state level.
“This administration is trampling on a lot of people’s rights,” she said. “It is horrific how we are treating immigrants. These ICE agents are detaining American citizens. They are not allowing American citizens due process.
“The whole education thing is a mess. They are trying to gerrymander Missouri. It doesn’t represent what Missourians stand for.”
Protesters also had the opportunity to sign petitions for the right of every student to receive a public education, to overturn newly drawn congressional maps for Missouri designed to help Republicans in next year’s midterm elections, to ensure initiatives passed by voters cannot be overturned and to protect the rights of the LGBTQ community.
“The gerrymandering is a big one, and the respect Missouri voters is a big one,” Akers said of the petitions. “I know a lot of people are frustrated with the way Amendment 3 (a ballot issue approved in November 2024 to legalize abortion in Missouri until fetal viability) was handled. The government has said they want things to go back to the states, but we are not listening to what people in the states want.”
Akers said she did not see any counter protesters in Hillsboro, and the “No Kings” event was peaceful.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Hillsboro Police said they received no reports about problems at the protest.
Akers said she thought it was a positive coincidence that on the same day as the protest the World War II Weekend Living History event was held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro.
“We absolutely respect what the men and women who fought for this country and fought fascism did,” she said. “I encouraged everybody to go there and show support for those men and women. We value their ideals, and the same thing they fought for, we are fighting for.”
When a “No Kings” protest was held in June at the Jefferson County Courthouse, approximately 100 people participated, and about a dozen counter protesters gathered across the street from the Courthouse that day.
Akers said she believes more people are participating in protest because they no longer feel like they are alone.
“I feel like the idea behind ‘No Kings’ is really a bipartisan idea,” she said. “We have plenty of people who are Republicans or Independents out there with us. We just want the Constitution and our law upheld.”