TWH – From city plazas to courthouse lawns, millions of Americans took to the streets on June 14 to voice a resounding rejection of authoritarianism during the nationwide “No Kings” protest. Organized as a grassroots response to President Donald Trump’s long-desired military parade commemorating the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary—and his birthday—the demonstrations spanned more than 2,000 cities and towns, with organizers estimating over 12 million in attendance.
Indeed, the Alt-National Park Service – “The official ‘Resistance’ team of U.S. National Park Service” – announced on social media:
“The No Kings protest was massive! Historic turnout across the country. Shoutout to all the cities and towns that showed up in force:
Ocean Beach (San Francisco), Boise, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Louisville, Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Napa, Hudson, Atlanta, Naples, Nashville, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Houston, York, Lincoln, Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Madison, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Austin, San Diego, Baltimore, Detroit, Charlotte, Tampa, Boston, Providence, New Haven, Albany, Raleigh, Columbus, Indianapolis, Kansas City, New Orleans.
And even the small towns showed up big:
Manistee, Oneonta, Pasco County, Stowe, Bennington, Union Gap, Bellingham, Casper, Jackson, Driggs, Petoskey, Traverse City, Big Rapids, Alton, South Bend, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Des Moines, Topeka, Great Bend, Hays, Lenexa, Garden City, Lawrence, Wichita, Pierre, Rapid City, Spearfish, Watertown, Brookings, Sioux Falls.
From coast to coast, city streets to small town squares, you showed up. And it mattered.Honored to announce: 12.1 million in attendance.”
The movement’s message was clear: the United States is a democracy. Protesters—some carrying flags, others wearing costumes or holding effigies—gathered in peaceful defiance of what they called the “coronation culture” surrounding Trump’s presidency. Among them were many Pagans, whose spiritual activism and commitment to civic participation infused rallies with both ritual and purpose.
“This demonstration isn’t about party lines—it’s about drawing a line,” said Mortellus, author, Witch, and High Priestex of the Coven of Leaves, who led the Indivisible Rutherford NC event in North Carolina. “We’re saying no to unchecked power and cults of personality, and yes to the Constitution, to community, and to each other.” Mortellus’s event drew nearly 300 participants to the Rutherford County Courthouse.
The Pagan presence at No Kings events was visible across the country. In Asheville, North Carolina, Pagan Elders Oberon Zell, Co-founder of the Church of All Worlds, and companion Rhiannon, Priestess of Serpentstone, set up a booth focused on religious freedom and pluralism, distributing interfaith materials alongside Pagan literature. “We came dressed as Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam,” Zell wrote in a post-event statement. “Everyone else was carrying signs—we were the signs!” The pair’s table ran out of Pagan flyers before the rally ended, and they reported overwhelmingly positive responses from the crowd.
“We didn’t see many other local Pagans at the rally, which surprised us given the size of the Pagan community in Western North Carolina,” Zell added, “but we did powerful magick on Friday the 13th—sun for us, rain for the parade.”
Oberon & Rhiannon Zell at the “No Kings!” rally in Asheville, NC [Photo: Courtesy
In Walnut Creek, California, Rev. Patrick McCollum attended a protest in what he described as a “fairly conservative” area. “There are thousands of protesters in all directions,” he noted. “No paid protestors, no violence—just families, veterans, and ordinary Americans.” McCollum met with a group of Marine veterans who expressed outrage at Trump’s use of the Marines in Los Angeles against civilian protesters, calling it “a black mark” on their honor.
Meanwhile, the Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) issued a statement ahead of the protests, urging Witches and Pagans to unite in raising collective energy. “We are inspired by the dedication and unity shown by all who participated,” read the ATC message.
Belladonna Laveau, Matriarch and Archpriestess of the ATC, took to TikTok the night before the protests to rally magical practitioners. “Witches are getting together and casting at the same time,” she said, describing a plan to channel the energy of the protests into a cone of power—calling storms to rain on Trump’s parade while protecting protesters nationwide.
Across the country in Philadelphia, Robert L. Schreiwer of Heathens Against Hate reported a peaceful march of more than 100,000. “The police were actually quite polite,” he said. “Thanks to all the Heathens who stood up in cities across the country,” Schreiwer said noting that in addition to their public stance against authoritarianism, the Heathen contingent offered blessings for unity and resilience.
Eric Scott, Weekend Editor of The Wild Hunt, also attended a No Kings! protest in Belleville, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Local media quoted Scott leading “an old Union Chant.”
“Who’s got the power? We’ve got the power. What kind of power? People power.”
“It shows that there are a lot of us and if we stick together, we can make our voices known and we can show that you can’t just come in and uproot our lives without expecting us to fight back,” Scott said. “I saw leading up to this a lot of people being scared to come out or afraid of what was going to happen. And I think if you look around at what is happening here in the Belleville Square and I’m sure is happening at other kinds of protests today, we’re here and we’re mad, but also there’s a lot of joy.”
Andras Corban-Arthen, former President & Interfaith Liaison at European Congress of Ethnic Religions and spiritual director of the EarthSpirit Community, issued a sobering reflection on the fragility of democracy. “The notion of a ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’ ends up being a cruel, dangerous joke unless ‘the people’ are willing to engage in the process of governing,” he said.
In Asheville, author and Witch Byron Ballard praised the nationwide effort. “We did good, strong work here,” she wrote. “It also happened all over the country. Well done.”
Unfortunately, not all protests remained peaceful. In Los Angeles, where prior demonstrations against federal immigration enforcement turned tense, police deployed tear gas and crowd-control munitions to disperse protesters after the formal event ended. Portland and Salt Lake City also reported clashes; in Salt Lake, a shooting during the march left one person critically injured and three others in custody. Despite isolated violence, the vast majority of rallies were peaceful, vibrant, and family-friendly.
Mortellus also reported safety issues. Organizers reported multiple incidents of intimidation—including an armed individual and a small group of neo-Nazis—but praised their volunteer security team and participants for keeping the gathering peaceful. “Even in light of the lack of support from local law enforcement and thanks to good planning on the part of our volunteer event staff and their quick responses, this event remained safe,” they wrote in a statement to TWH. “During the event a group of neo-Nazi’s (with one wearing large Nazi “SS” (or “Schutzstaffel”) symbols on their garments) were swiftly removed from our invite-only demonstration, and an older gentleman in a pickup truck waving Trump flags made several passes— at one point raising a holstered gun and pointing it at the crowd, and on other passes made a “finger gun” gesture of shooting at the crowd.”
In Atlanta, more than 5,000 gathered outside the state Capitol while thousands more filled surrounding streets. Seattle’s largest downtown protest in recent memory drew over 70,000 people, according to local authorities. Some events took on a carnival atmosphere: in Asheville, demonstrators handed out red clown noses, bananas, and plastic crowns. In Washington D.C., a giant Trump puppet wearing a crown and sitting on a golden toilet rolled through Logan Circle as protesters chanted, “Trump must go now!”
The No Kings Coalition declared the day an overwhelming success: “Today, across red states and blue, rural towns and major cities, Americans stood in peaceful unity and made it clear: we don’t do kings.”
That message resonated across Pagan communities. In city after city, Pagan voices and ritual acts amplified the protests’ moral and spiritual undercurrent. From casting circles to distributing educational materials, Pagan activists helped root the demonstrations in an ethic of pluralism, freedom, and civic duty. “Kings belong in history books, not American politics,” Mortellus wrote.
“We elect servants, not kings,” wrote Andras Corban-Arthen, reminding readers that democracy is an ongoing experiment, not a finished product. For many Pagans, participation in the protests was not merely political—it was a sacred act of protection, a ritual of resistance, and a collective effort to manifest the ideals of democracy in both spirit and action.
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