Indivisible predicts massive turnout for ‘No Kings’ protests

Cyndi Greening has a distinct memory of when Donald Trump won the presidency last November. It came from his living room floor.

The former college professor from Chippewa Falls, Wis., said she cried there for days until her 37-year-old son intervened: “Get up and do something. What do you have?”

That’s when the Chippewa Valley Indivisible group was formed. At the first meeting in January, 28 people showed up. At the next moment, it was 68. It then increased to 124.

Today, membership is approaching 1,900. On Saturday, they will be among millions participating in nationwide “No Kings” protests, which organizers expect will far exceed the 5 million demonstrators who turned out for June’s “No Kings” day.

“It just kept erupting. What was happening was just shocking to me,” Greening said of his group that serves Eau Claire and more rural – and redder – areas like Chippewa Falls, Elk Mound, Cleghorn and Jim Falls.

The Chippewa Valley Group’s growth is emblematic of the explosive growth Indivisible has experienced since last year’s election, said Indivisible co-founder and co-executive director Ezra Levin.

Formed in 2017 after Trump’s first election, Indivisible has demonstrated its longevity. But since November, the organization’s growth has been on a steady upward trajectory, according to Levin.

Every day, five to eight new Indivisible groups form, in red, blue or purple zones. Each congressional district has several groups, as do 27 countries, the last being in Milan, Italy.

Indivisible held a “Hands Off” march in April that attracted 3 million people nationwide, holding 750 events. This year’s first No Kings Day in June brought together around 5 million people and 2,200 events. On Saturday, Levin expects the numbers to rise again, with more than 2,000 gatherings planned.

“We will witness the largest protest in modern American history on October 18,” he said.

Significant turnout is expected at large rallies in Washington, D.C., in front of the Capitol; New York City; Chicago; and Portland, Oregon.

Precise crowd sizes are difficult to quantify. But historical estimates in recent years include the post-George Floyd, Black Lives Matter protests among the largest national movements, but over a period of several days.

The protests are taking place against the backdrop of a nation in conflict. Congress is at a standstill due to the government shutdown. Trump ordered the deployment of the National Guard to California, Illinois, Oregon and Washington, D.C., against the wishes of local elected officials. Immigration agents are making aggressive arrests in cities across the country, and videos showing clashes, sometimes violent, with residents and protesters have followed.

As the upcoming marches approached, Republicans continued to spread messages attempting to portray the marches as being made up of dangerous left-wing hate groups. At the same time, the Democratic base has expressed dissatisfaction with their party’s leadership.

After Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s capitulation in the spring, in which he voted in favor of a government funding bill, Levin said Indivisible called an emergency meeting of all its groups to ask what to do; 92% wanted Schumer to step down. Levin said at the time that Washington Democrats were fighting back in a purely performative way. The group now fully supports the latest position, which requires Republicans to restore health care cuts before signing a funding bill.

“They are fighting now and it is our job to support them. There is a time for strategic disagreements, there is a time to debate what the demand should be, but once the call is made and once the party is unified against the regime, it is our job to support them,” Levin said.

“My main message to them is this: the cavalry is coming on October 18 and they are either going to celebrate you or they are going to call for new leadership,” he said.

Levin said recent threats against free speech from the administration — including Trump saying he would investigate liberal groups — were all the more reason to demonstrate that they are not afraid of a “regime suppressing our First Amendment right to protest.” But they also want to send a message to elected Democrats: “‘Hey, you just found your backbone. Get used to standing up straight because if you don’t, we’ll find people who will.'”

Some Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, accused Democrats of extending the government shutdown to appease their base during Saturday’s protest.

In an interview with Fox News, Johnson referred to those who demonstrated Saturday as the “pro-Hamas wing” and “antifa people.” Republican congressional leaders have dubbed them “hate America” rallies.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, on CNBC, tried to blame the shutdown on the rally. “No kings means no pay, no salary and no government,” he said. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also made comparisons between “No Kings” and antifa and claimed protesters would be paid.

“It’s astonishing how much these guys hate free speech,” Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, told NBC News in response to the Republican messages. “I honestly think we should have talked more about their comments about the ‘No Kings’ rallies. The best thing we can do is just make sure there’s a huge turnout on the 18th.

“If these rallies are crowded, that’s an answer in itself. What they’re trying to do is suppress support for the opposition, try to make you believe that you’re somehow connected to violence if you show up to a peaceful protest rally. I think the turnout is going to be large, and I think that will be a sign that their tactics aren’t working.”