About 250,000 people protested in Chicago’s No Kings rally and march Saturday, condemning President Donald Trump’s escalating attacks on democracy as the city remains in the crosshairs of an intensifying immigration crackdown.
The Oct. 18 event kicked off at noon with a rally in Grant Park’s Butler Field, where so many people attended that the crowd overflowed into the park’s surrounding streets, where protesters later marched to Trump Tower and then ICE’s Downtown office.
Speakers—including Gov. JB Pritzker, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Equality Illinois CEO Channyn Lynne Parker—denounced the recent ICE raids in Chicago and warned about the Trump administration’s slide toward authoritarianism.
“We will never surrender!” said Pritzker, who was greeted by thunderous applause when he took the stage.
“Today we’re here to say with one voice that there is an existential threat to our constitutional republic,” Pritzker continued. “This is not a political choice—this is a moral imperative.”
The protest came after several weeks of an aggressive and large-scale immigration enforcement operation that has caused widespread fear and outrage across Chicago.
Since ICE came to the city, federal agents have shot at least two people, unleashed chemical irritants against protesters and in neighborhoods and handcuffed a Chicago alderperson. The feds have arrested people at grocery stores, parents dropping their kids off at school, street vendors and more.
Protesters’ anger at the federal forces that have invaded Chicago was palpable. Handmade signs contained slogans like “Melt ICE” while chants of “Chinga la migra”—Spanish for “F–k ICE”— filled the air.
Johnson, who has signed executive orders strengthening Chicago’s Welcoming City ordinance, accused Trump of using ICE as his private militarized force against U.S. citizens.
“But we are saying emphatically clear: We do not want troops in our city,” Johnson said. “We will not allow our city to be occupied.”
LGBTQ+ leaders and organizations also played a key part in the No Kings protest, with Equality Illinois serving as one of the co-organizers and Jin-Soo Huh, a local LGBTQ+ organizer, emceeing the rally.
Several openly LGBTQ+ elected officials were present, including Alds. Anthony Quezada (35th), Jessie Fuentes (26th) and Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd); Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis; and State Sen. Mike Simmons.
Parker, who was recently named CEO of Equality Illinois, warned that the same forces targeting immigrants are also threatening LGBTQ+ people’s rights and safety.
“This administration has been attacking transgender medical care, calling us domestic terrorists [and] maligning who we are for political gain,” Parker told Windy City Times before the rally. “Our hard-won rights that we’ve fought so hard for in the past years and beyond are being threatened to be dismantled.”
Janice Pacheco, a North Sider, attended the rally in a T-shirt with the transgender flag printed on it. She said she came to defend democracy and stand up for her 25-year-old transgender daughter, whose rights have increasingly come under attack.
“I actually survived breast cancer last year,” Pacheco said. “And I had to choose between this rally and resting—but I believe democracy, trans rights, women’s rights and gender equality are worth fighting for.”
Since taking office in January, Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders targeting access to gender-affirming care, banning transgender people from serving in the military and attempting to erase trans people from public life. At the same time, anti-trans legislation continues to be introduced in states across the country as courts are reconsidering the community’s rights.
Pacheco said these actions and rhetoric have taken an emotional toll on her family, including her daughter, who thankfully has found comfort in a supportive partner.
“I want the trans and LGBTQ+ people out there to know that we love you,” Pacheco said. “And to encourage parents to support their children.”
For Aaron, who asked that his name be withheld out of fear of retribution, the protest was a chance to stand up for LGBTQ+ people in the face of these attacks.
“There are so many attacks against trans rights and they’re especially demonizing trans kids, so I wanted to come out here and make a statement that we’re not going to put up with this,” Aaron said.
Sisters Erin and Meghan Vogel of Lincoln Square said they joined the march to show solidarity with communities under attack, including LGBTQ+ people.
“I’m queer, and it feels like we’re going backwards,” Erin said. “Trans lives are being attacked even though they make up less than 1% of the population. It’s time for everybody to stand up for our most vulnerable.”
Chicago’s rally was among about 2,700 similar demonstrations against the Trump administration planned across the U.S. Smaller rallies were also held in neighborhoods across Chicago, including Little Village and Lincoln Park.
Organizers of the No Kings rally in Grant Park said the attendance surpassed that of the previous No Kings protest held in June—a reminder of people’s collective power.
“If you could only see yourselves as I do right now,” Parker said, looking out into the mass of protesters in Grant Park. “In this vast sea of courage, all I see is power—the power of the people.”
