Julia Dickinson

On Saturday, thousands of Mainers gathered in more than 30 demonstrations throughout the state to join the “No Kings” day of protest. From York to Bangor, community members gathered together in the second “No Kings” protest. The nationwide protests were an outcry against rising authoritarianism, the erosion of democracy and other Trump administration policies regarding immigration, healthcare and more.

The “No Kings” movement began in the summer of 2025, just a few months after President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. The protests first occurred on June 14th, Trump’s birthday, as a counterprotest to the military parade that day.

Nationally, more than seven million people gathered in 2,700 events on October 18. Here in Brunswick, community members and students alike joined forces to voice their concerns about recent developments in Washington, D.C.

Harper Stevenson ’27, who attended the protest, felt pulled to join the rally on Maine Street.

“I attended the protest because I feel a responsibility to show up and stand out against the authoritarian takeover happening in our government. It felt good to see so many people rally together, which is something I don’t feel has happened enough at Bowdoin this fall,” Stevenson wrote in an email to the Orient. “I went to the first ‘No Kings’ protest over the summer in Portland and really enjoyed it. It was heartening to be in a crowd of that size and gave a lot of people a sense of agency.”

However, Stevenson was troubled by the lack of young people, particularly Bowdoin students, in attendance.

“I went with a friend, and four separate people approached us to say, ‘Thank you for showing up and representing young people ….’ The majority of protesters were adults or retirees, and a good number of families with their children,” Stevenson wrote. “There was much less student [or] Gen Z representation than I would have imagined, which I found troubling. We chatted with one woman about how students can be overwhelmed with work and feel as though they don’t have time to attend demonstrations, but that argument feels weak—especially when the [Trump] administration is actively dismantling democracy.”

Others who attended the rally echoed this sentiment, including Beth Leonard, co-owner of Gulf of Maine Books, located on Maine Street. Signs that she brought to the protest read “Democracy doesn’t fear protest. Dictators do,” “Disarm hate” and “Trump is the real paid insurrectionist.”

Leonard encouraged more student participation in local politics.

“If you can register in Maine, you should vote in Maine,” she said.

There have been several protests against the Trump administration in Brunswick since the inauguration. On April 11, more than 1,200 people gathered in a similar protest against the nascent administration called “Hands Off.”

In Maine, the October 18 protests had particular significance. October 18th marks 250 years since the Burning of Falmouth, a British attack on what is now Portland, during the American Revolution. A quarter of a century later, Mainers are continuing to fight for the same thing: “No Kings.”

Stevenson elaborated on what the protest meant to her.

“The “No Kings” message is simple—the United States has always been a country that rejects authoritarian rule, and this message gets at the heart of what Trump is doing as he installs himself as a fascist dictator. The message does not focus on his policies or ideologies on specific issues but rather denounces him as a president seizing total control of the government and American people,” Stevenson wrote.