“No more king! No more king! No more king,” chanted a crowd of about 250 protesters holding signs, wearing costumes and waving flags as they took to the streets of downtown Grinnell.
The Oct. 18 protest, called the No King’s Rally, Voter Information Fair and Food Drive, was part of over 2600 demonstrations held across the country “to show the world: America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people,” according to the movement’s website.
The local crowd, which congregated in downtown Grinnell and stretched from Broad Street to Pearl Street, denounced policies being enacted by President Donald Trump’s administration and even drew counter-protestors.
Among those in attendance was Rev. Jessica Margrave Schirm, a pastor at Grinnell United Church of Christ.
“We see things happening in Chicago or Portland, and it’s easy to say those are big-city issues that don’t happen here. But this city is filled with diversity. It’s filled with people from all different cultures and communities,” she said. “The recognition is that even here in small towns, people don’t feel safe, our neighbors don’t feel safe. LGBTQIA+ folks don’t feel safe. People of color don’t feel safe.”
Liz Rodrigues, a Grinnell College associate professor, digital scholarship librarian, and member of the Grinnell Organizing Collective, said the group, which helped organize the protest, wanted to make their message loud and visible across communities of all sizes.
“We wanted it to be big because we wanted to be visible,” Rodrigues said. “We want to make it clear in small towns and in big cities that a wide range of people are unhappy with the way the president is treating the Constitution right now.”
The demonstration began at 1 p.m. and ran until about 2:30 p.m. It concluded at Central Park with speakers, a food drive and voter registration tables.
“A lot of the actions that the administration has taken have worsened what was already a very bad situation for people working low- or middle-wage jobs,” added Rodrigues. “We are all Americans, or are we not? Do we want to leave a country that’s functional for the next generation, or do we want to leave a country that’s controlled by one single person and whatever their whims are?”
Alec Barnum, another member of the Grinnell Organizing Collective, said clearly framing the rally’s objectives is important.
“It’s a matter of framing: who is the ‘us’ versus ‘them’? The ‘us’ is working-class Americans who believe in public democracy and think that no one is above the law,” Barnum said.
While many passing drivers honked in support, counter-protesters could also be seen circling downtown in vehicles displaying “Trump 2020: Keep America Great” flags.
The Scarlet & Black spoke with one of those counter-protestors who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.
“I feel like it’s just people supporting their beliefs, and we’re just doing the same thing,” he said. “I mean, especially in a town like Grinnell as well, a lot of people are afraid to speak about their own beliefs.”
He said, unlike the protestors, he is supportive of the direction the Trump administration is taking the country.
“I like what our country’s doing and the direction our country’s headed with Donald Trump being our leader,” he said. “There’s a reason we’re essentially the most powerful country in the world. It’s gonna stay that way.”
Schirm said the rally was not only about democracy but also about unity and shared responsibility.
“Those folks driving by and flipping us off, their rights are just as much on the line. Their health care is just as much on the line. Their neighbors, their employees, their organizations and businesses … we are all at risk,” Schirm said.
The same anonymous counter-protester said he found the demonstrations to be futile.
“I don’t know, because it ain’t really doing nothing for us,” he said. “I don’t think it’s stopping anything. I think it’s just influencing a younger generation of people, and in my eyes, the wrong way. The opposite way that I was taught.”
Editor’s note: The story has been updated to reflect the accurate number of people in attendance. Updated 10/19/25.
