‘No Kings’ Protest Planned in State College

Updated 6:14 p.m. March 25.

A protest in State College will be among thousands nationwide in the latest of a series of “No Kings” rallies against President Donald Trump and his administration’s agenda.

The local event is the third in the last year will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 28, on Penn State’s Old Main Lawn.

The State College event is organized by Keystone Indivisible, the Centre County chapter of the national progressive activism organization Indivisible, one of the lead organizers of the No Kings Day of Action.

“Centre County families are being crushed by the rising costs of groceries and gas, housing and healthcare. Instead of working to meet those needs, this administration has supercharged funding for ICE to terrorize our communities and launched an unprovoked, unneeded and costly war with Iran,” Suzanne Weinstein, a member of Keystone Indivisible’s volunteer leadership team, said in a statement.

Saturday’s demonstration will begin with remarks followed by a march. Community groups will be on hand with informational tables, and the day also will include face painting, button making and a costume contest.

No Kings events “adhere to a shared commitment to nonviolent protest and community safety,” according to Keystone Indivisible.

“Organizers are trained in de-escalation and are working closely with local partners to ensure peaceful and powerful actions nationwide,” the organization wrote in a news release.

The first No Kings protests were held in June, with the State College edition drawing hundreds to College Avenue and South Allen Street, rallying against what organizers described as ”authoritarian politics” and an attempt by Trump to turn his birthday celebration into a “military parade-style coronation.”

A crowd that organizers estimated at 3,000 people attended the second No Kings rally in State College in October, when millions participated in similar protests nationwide. That event began on Old Main Lawn and included a march through downtown State College.

With the latest planned protests, Indivisible cites Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics, the U.S. war with Iran, rollbacks of health care and environmental protections and other Trump administration actions.

“America does not belong to strongmen, greedy billionaires or those who rule through fear. It belongs to us, the people,” Weinstein said. “On March 28, we protest the harms of the crisis we face, and share what we can do to fight back.”