‘No Kings’ Protests Planned This Weekend In Sarasota Area: What To Know

SARASOTA, FL — A second series of “No Kings” protests against the Trump administration will take place around the country on Saturday, with several demonstrations scheduled in the Sarasota area.

• Englewood, address provided at RSVP, 9 to 10:30 a.m.
• University Town Center, Target parking lot, Sarasota, 9 to 11 a.m.
• Payne Park, Sarasota, 9 a.m. to noon
• Michael Biehl Park, Venice, 10 a.m. to noon
• Bradenton, address provided at RSVP, 10 a.m. to noon

No Kings is a coalition of numerous progressive and pro-democracy organizations led and coordinated by the national organizing group Indivisible.

In the first No Kings protests in June, millions of people peacefully demonstrated against what they say are authoritarian policies of President Donald Trump. The protests were held on the same day as the U.S. Army 250th Anniversary Parade on Trump’s 79th birthday.

At least 2,000 protests will be held Saturday in every state in the country, with demonstrations planned in most major U.S. cities, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Protests are designed to be a peaceful day of action, according to the No Kings website.

A large gathering planned on the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol drew the ire of House Speaker Mike Johnson, who told Fox News Friday that although he is “a very patient guy,” he has “had it with these people.”

He called the Saturday protest a “Hate America rally” staged by “all the pro-Hamas wing and the antifa people.”

“They’re all coming out,” Johnson said.

Protestors’ ranks are expected to be swelled by laid-off federal workers who won’t get a paycheck until the federal government reopens or who may lose their jobs entirely.

The American Federation of Government Employees urged members of its 900 local unions to join No Kings protests as well. Together, the locals represent more than 820,000 workers in almost every federal agency of the government.

“The protest movement has taken on new urgency with the government shutdown that began Oct. 1,” the union said in an Oct. 6 statement. “Shutting down the government is another authoritarian power grab by this administration, which has threatened to lay off mass numbers of furloughed federal workers as part of an ongoing quest to gut federal programs and services the administration finds objectionable.”

No Kings said demonstrators this weekend are expected to protest a variety of administration policies, including immigration enforcement by masked agents and the disruption of migrant families, congressional map gerrymandering, health care and higher costs of living.