Among the estimated 12,000 protestors who gathered Saturday, October 18, 2025, at Atlanta Civic Center for a local “No Kings” rally, many rejected the idea that dissent equals disloyalty to the country.

Attendees and speakers said demonstrations in Atlanta, Savannah, Brunswick, and elsewhere signified a movement to reclaim democracy and patriotism from efforts by the Trump administration to weaponize them.

Near the main stage as the rally began, Elizabeth Hargrove posed for pictures and accepted compliments on her patriotic costume: her version of Lady Liberty from the Schoolhouse Rock song “The Great American Melting Pot.”

Dressed in red, white, and blue, with inflated wings bearing stars and stripes, Hargrove said she attended the rally “to be surrounded by others who love our country.”

“I’ve heard pundits on the news, people commenting on social media saying that these rallies are a lot of people who hate America, but it’s really the antithesis of that idea,” she said, as a small plastic cauldron holding tiny flags swung at her hip.

ACLU of Georgia Executive Director Andrea Young reminded the crowd why an estimated 12,000 Georgians showed up. “We stand with you to keep this a country that’s for the people, by the people,” she said to cheers and waving signs that read “Make a Democracy Again, “I (Heart) America and the Constitution,” and “We Love America — That’s Why We Protest.”

“We stand with you to keep this a country that’s for the people, by the people.”

Andrea Young, ACLU of Georgia Executive Director

The ACLU of Georgia, the Indivisible Georgia Coalition, and other advocacy groups organized the day of action in several locations across the state. Since similar demonstrations in June, the Trump administration’s undemocratic actions have increased.

Abuses of power including silencing journalists, students, and political opponents; demanding lawmakers redraw electoral maps to help his party win elections; and sending masked federal agents to arrest people without due process.

People in every state pushed back against the abuses as 7 million show up for rallies and marches across the nation. In Washington, D.C., demonstrators filled Pennsylvania Avenue near the U.S. Capitol. On the West Coast, tens of thousands filled the streets in Southern California communities.

The protests were largely peaceful. Police in New York City, where a rally drew some of the day's biggest crowds, said no protest-related arrests were made, according to NPR.

A democracy supporter in a red,white and blue patriotic inflatable costume stands near the No Kings stage at the Atlanta Civic Center on October 18, 2025.
Woman dressed as Lady Liberty from the Schoolhouse Rock song "The Great American Melting Pot," at the No Kings Rally in Atlanta on Oct. 18, 2025.
A man holds a sign above the crowd that reads History Has its Eyes on Us at the No Kings rally on October 18, 2025.
ACLU Policy and Advocacy Director Christopher Bruce joyously welcomes Executive Director Andrea Young to the stage while she waves an American flag at the October 18, 2025 No Kings rally.
ACLU of Georgia Advocacy and Policy Director Christopher Bruce addresses the crowd at the No Kings Rally on October 18, 2025.
Rally goers in inflatable animal costumes and others holding signs at the October 18, 2025 No Kings Rally in Glynn County, Georgia.
A shiny tuba has the words No Kings on its bell as a band plays amid the crowd at the October 18, 2025 No Kings rally at the Atlanta Civic Center.
A band plays tunes among the ground at the October 18, 2025 No Kings Rally at the Atlanta Civic Center.
A band with members playing a tuba, flutes, saxophones, a drum and more during the October 18, 2025 No Kings Rally at the Atlanta Civic Center.
ACLU of Georgia's First Amendment Policy Counsel Sarah Hunt-Blackwell address the crowd at the October 18, 2025 No Kings Rally at the Atlanta Civic Center.
ACLU of Georgia staff, volunteers, and legal observers stand before blue and white tents at the No Kings rally at the Atlanta Civic Center.
An estimated crowd of 12,000 people filled the parking lot of the Atlanta Civic Center for the October 18, 2025 No Kings Rally at the Atlanta Civic Center.
Rally goers hold signs with phrases like Good Trouble, Liberty and Justice for All and other sayings amid the crowd at the the No Kings Rally on October 18, 2025.
A man and a woman hold signs saying Making Good Trouble, and Free Speech Free County at the No Kings Rally on October 18, 2025.
Stacey Abrams speaks at No Kings 2 rally on Saturday, October 18, 2025.

Stacey Abrams

U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock addresses the crowd at the No Kings Rally on October 18, 2025.