Pithy signs and cardboard crowns filled the streets at Saturday’s No Kings demonstrations, held in dozens of communities across Wisconsin and thousands throughout the country. Demonstrators held signs with crossed-out crowns, anti-ICE messages, and slogans like “The peasants are revolting.”

Organizers called it the largest coordinated protest of the second Trump Administration, claiming more than five million participants across roughly 2,100 cities and towns nationwide — except for Minnesota, where all protests were canceled after the assassination of a state representative and shooting of a state senator.

“From block parties to marches, families, workers, immigrants, and neighbors showed up in the face of military deployments and political threats to affirm a shared truth: we don’t answer to kings, and we will not be ruled by fear,” No Kings organizers said in a statement.

The day of resistance was deliberately timed to coincide with President Donald Trump’s birthday military parade in Washington, D.C.

Cardboard crowns of all types were common at the No Kings protests. (Kathryn Lake/Civic Media)

The protests drew large crowds in smaller Wisconsin communities. The Civic Media news network reported turnout well beyond typical demonstrations: roughly 2,000 in Eau Claire, nearly 2,000 in Waukesha, at least 700 in Oshkosh, over 300 in Wisconsin Rapids, and about 100 outside the county courthouse in Richland Center.

The crowd in Oshkosh surpassed 700 (Lisa Hale / Civic Media)

In Madison, an estimated 15,000 people gathered downtown for five hours of protest. The “Kick Out the Clowns” rally, presented by the Women’s March, featured actual clowns in a stage show lampooning oligarchy, the federal budget plan, and Elon Musk.

“Educate, agitate, escalate, liberate. That is how we win… We don’t just mock power. We don’t just protest. We build power. We exercise power. We govern, and we keep us safe,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, a Wisconsin native and Executive Director of Women’s March.

Protesters marched down State Street and around the Capitol afterward, gathering at the King Street entrance for music and speeches.

While the protests spanned a wide range of anti-Trump messages, many pointed to the escalation of immigration enforcement, from detentions to deportations.

Protest signs in Waukesha, where protestors approached 2,000 (Jennie Brand/Civic Media).

Huma Assan, an immigration attorney with Madison Immigration Law, took aim at ICE enforcements within courtrooms, pointing to the high-profile handcuffing and ongoing legal battle for Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan.

“When a sitting judge like Judge Dugan dares to speak up, dares to speak truth to power, she is targeted too. Her arrest sends a chilling message — be silent. Don’t resist.”

“When our courtrooms are stages for political theater, we all lose. When due process is denied and judges fear speaking the truth, how can the rest of us, especially immigrants, expect any fairness at all?” she said.

Clown noses flowed in the crowd in Madison during the “Kick Out the Clowns” rally (Chali Pittman / Civic Media).

There were appearances from surprise political figures. Senator Bernie Sanders addressed the crowd via phone held up to a microphone.

“What I can tell you is that whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, an independent, a Progressive or a conservative, the American people do not want to see this country become an oligarchic form of society. They do not want this country to move into authoritarianism.”

“And they sure as hell do not want legislation that would give billions of dollars of tax breaks to the very richest people in this country, at the same time they cut nutrition, Medicaid, and education,” said Sanders.

Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, already in the state for a speech at the Wisconsin Democrats State Convention, also dropped by.

He called for nonviolent direct action, and took aim at the handcuffing of Senator Alex Padilla and the cuts within the Republican budget bill.

“A budget is not just a fiscal document. A budget is a moral document. Show me a budget and I will show you who you think matters. Who you think is indispensable. And if this budget that they are trying to pass right now were an EKG, it would suggest that my Republican colleagues have a heart problem. And they are in need of moral surgery,” he said to cheers.

“That’s what you’re doing right now, as you gather in rallies all across the country. You are performing moral surgery on a country that has a heart problem right now.”

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