Kentuckians turn out for anti-Trump No Kings protests at ‘crucial moment’ for democracy

LOUISVILLE — Thousands rallied across Kentucky on Saturday in No Kings protests against the administration of President Donald Trump.

Cindy Campbell of Louisville led a march around downtown from her wheelchair — along with her son and granddaughter — holding a sign that said “No Kings in America since 1776.” 

“We feel very strongly that this country is on such a wrong track,” said Campbell, 68. “We just see what’s happened to this country and how it used to be. And there’s not much we can do, but this — and this is why we came out.” 

Campbell was one of at least 1,000 who rallied in downtown Louisville. Politicians and community organizers spoke from the steps of Metro Hall above a sign that asked: “Who Would Jesus Deport?” 

Before the No Kings movement emerged in President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, it had been years since Campbell protested anything. (She recalls having posters in her room against the war in Vietnam decades ago). 

“It’s just very frustrating when (Trump) just does anything he wants to do, and it doesn’t matter if it’s against the law or not supposed to be done. He just does it anyway,” she said. 

She takes issue, in particular, with library books being removed from some libraries over content labeled as DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and over rhetoric attacking “woke people.” She said her family includes people of different races and sexual orientations. 

“To me that (woke) is just: You care about other people and making sure everybody has a spot at the table,” she said. 

Halfway through the rally, which was scheduled from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, the crowd marched around downtown and returned to Metro Hall without incident. Along the march, several Louisville Metro Police Officers rode bikes on the sidewalk, around the outskirts of the march. There were no visible country-protesters along the route. 

At least 38 No Kings protests were scheduled around Kentucky, from Prestonsburg to Ashland to Paducah. 

Louisville: A push to vote as ‘an act of dissent’

Elected officials, politicians running for office and community organizers emphasized the need to vote to the crowd gathered in Louisville, criticized Trump’s war in Iran, recent actions from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and more. 

“We’re at a moment in our lives, in the history of our country, where we have to decide who we are as a city, as a state, as a nation, as a people,” said immigration attorney and state Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville. “What does it mean to be American?” 

She also criticized actions from ICE: “Do they care who they’re picking up? Do they care if that person is a criminal? Do they care if they’re here legally? Do they care if they’re citizens? Do they care if they hurt citizens? Do they care when they kill citizens on the streets of our country? We have got to fight back.” 

Kulkarni, herself an immigrant, said the current climate around immigration is causing fear. 

“People that look like me have been carrying around their passports, their birth certificates,” she said. “They are afraid to go out of their houses to work, to school.”  

Kulkarni also pushed the importance of voting. 

“It’s not lost on any of us here how important the midterm elections are, and I want you to think about two things when you vote,” she said. “I want you to think about accountability, and I want you to think about your vote as an act of dissent.” 

Rep. Lisa Willner, D-Louisville, was also at the rally but did not speak. U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, a Louisville Democrat, was also at the Louisville protest. 

Jefferson County Clerk David Yates, a former Democratic state senator who in March intervened in a federal lawsuit in hopes of blocking the U.S. Department of Justice from gaining access to Kentuckians’ sensitive voter data, told the crowd: “I will not be bullied; I will not be intimidated.” 

“We have a president who’s willing to lie, cheat and fraud their way and take away your rights,” Yates said. “A president that would try to use a nationalized election to play partisan games, to try to keep women, certain Americans, certain groups, legalized citizens — to try to put roadblocks in the way to voting.” 

Shameka Parish-Wright, a Louisville councilwoman and mayoral candidate, said the country, as it prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, needs to reckon with its past. 

“We need movements that don’t back down, because this moment right now is about deciding what kind of country we are going to be,” she said. 

Louisville Metro Councilman JP Lyninger said democracy is “at stake” and the country is “under attack by fascists in Washington who want to take away our freedoms.” 

“Is our government legitimate?” he asked. “That’s a question that is at stake here. Where is the line? Where do we decide that the government that represents us in Washington is no longer legitimate? I am really worried about that, and you should be worried about that too.” 

Lexington: ‘My dad is an immigrant.’

In Lexington, thousands also turned out to listen to speakers and musicians before marching through downtown.

The overflow crowd in the Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Plaza included Ren Mancayo, 17, who was there with friends who, like him, are students at Henry Clay High School.

“My dad is an immigrant so this is a little personal,” he said.

Cam Fisher, 16, said he was there because “I have a lot of friends who are in marginalized communities” and he’s disappointed that the Trump administration is “going backwards in time” on human rights. “ICE is unethical. They have to go. They’re kidnapping kids. I don’t want the country to become a dangerous place for kids,” he said.

With the group was Martha Johannides, mother of 14-year-old Elizabeth. “I’m very proud of these guys learning to use their voice young,” she said, adding that there was a lot of competition for families’ time in Lexington on Saturday, including many school plays and Comic Con.

Crystal O’Dell, of Georgetown, said she had multiple reasons for turning out to protest Trump. “I’m a female. I have a daughter. She’s 11. I’m concerned about the country she’s growing up in. I’m a nurse. I’m concerned about my community. I think this war in Iran is a distraction — from Epstein, ICE, the economy.” 

The Lexington-based group Gathering for Democracy, which last year organized a town hall attended by almost 1,000 people, staffed a tent where people could write their “Dreams for Democracy” on colorful streamers that blew in the March wind and will become part of an art installation. Victoria Meyer wrote, “Love One Another.” 

Kim Edwards, a novelist and a founder of Gathering for Democracy, said she’s devoting much of her time and energy to organizing against Trump “because this is a crucial moment — our democracy being eroded by this administration. They seem to have given up on the ideals on which our country was founded — that all our voices matter and that we the people, not a wealthy elite, are the source of power.”

Dr. Craig Blair, a Lexington veterinarian and a leader of Peaceful Bluegrass Resistance, said that since February 2025, the Lexington-based group has staged more than 400 protests — “some very small, some very large,” he said.

“We’ve developed a great coalition in Lexington of local groups and chapters of national groups.”

Jonna Hendrichs, of Lexington, standing on a corner raising a sign that said “Imagine hating immigrants more than pedophiles,” said she has participated in all three No Kings protests in Lexington. “I want my kids to know how important it is to stand up for what you believe.”

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