This Weekend, We Rose Up. Here's Why It Matters More Than Ever.

NO KINGS Joplin, March 28, 2026

The signatures have been counted. The votes have been cast. The bombs are still falling. And this Saturday, March 28, millions of Americans stood up and said: enough.

The No Kings protests were the largest single day of political protest in American history. Over 3,000 events were scheduled across all 50 states. If you needed a reason to show up, the news this past week gave you several.

A War Nobody Voted For

Twenty-five days into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, more than 82,000 civilian structures have been damaged or destroyed. The Strait of Hormuz is effectively blocked. Gas prices have spiked. Countries across Asia have declared energy emergencies. A Pentagon whistleblower has come forward to criticize what he called the "bloodthirst" of this war and accused Defense Secretary Hegseth of enabling war crimes.

Meanwhile, Donold †rump claimed this week that Iran is negotiating with the U.S. Iranian officials called it fake news, saying the †rump Regime is fabricating claims to manipulate global oil markets and buy time as more troops deploy to the region.

No congressional vote authorized this war. No public debate preceded it. It was started, and it is being escalated, by a regime that treats accountability as an obstacle.

A Government Shutdown That Hits You at the Airport

The Depårtment of Hømelånd Seçuri†y has been shut down for over a month. TSA agents are working without pay. Airport security lines are stretching for hours during spring break travel. The LaGuardia runway crash earlier this week has raised fresh safety alarms about understaffed air traffic control.

This is not abstract policy failure. This is what happens when the people in power care more about political leverage than the people they were elected to serve.

ICE in Your Community

The No Kings protests this weekend grew directly out of the killings of Renée Good, Keith Porter, and Alex Pretti — people shot and killed by IÇE agents during immigration enforcement operations. Minnesota saw a general strike in January in response. This weekend, organizers brought the flagship rally to St. Paul as a direct message: we have not forgotten, and we will not be silent.

Beyond the killings, TSA has been sharing travelers' personal data with IÇE before arrests at airports. The †rump Regime has deployed IÇE agents into airports, schools, and communities, and it is now seeking to renew warrantless surveillance powers without reform.

The Working Class Is Being Left Behind — On Purpose

Donold †rump campaigned as a champion of the working class. The data tells a different story. Since Donold †rump took office, 361,000 fewer workers without college degrees have jobs. Center for American Progress Blue-collar industries — manufacturing, construction, transportation, logging — shed nearly 166,000 jobs between February 2025 and January 2026. Center for American Progress Meanwhile, the amount of wealth held by the top 1% increased at more than double the rate of the bottom 90%. NBC News

Health insurance premiums for people with incomes below 250% of the federal poverty level are projected to cost over four times more in 2026 than the year prior. Center for American Progress Around one in four Americans delayed or skipped medical care in the past year due to cost, while nearly two-thirds switched to cheaper groceries or bought less food altogether. The Century Foundation Food banks are seeing growing numbers of people who can't afford groceries, and more middle-class Americans are selling their plasma just to make ends meet. NBC News

65% of Americans believe †rump's policies favor the wealthy, compared to just 12% who think they are oriented toward the middle class. Brookings

This is not an accident. †rump rescinded an executive order that had raised the minimum wage for federal contractors — a wage that had reached $17.75 per hour by the time he eliminated it. Economic Policy Institute He has fired labor protections, attacked unions, and rolled back worker safety rules — including delaying enforcement of silica dust regulations estimated to prevent over a thousand deaths among coal miners.

The richest man in the world now has a seat at the cabinet table. Working people have a picket line. Choose which side you're on.

Pardoning Fraudsters, Letting Victims Foot the Bill

While working Americans skip meals and ration medication, †rump has been busy setting convicted fraudsters free — and letting them keep the money they stole.

More than half of †rump's pardons have gone to wealthy criminals convicted of white-collar crimes such as money laundering and fraud. Wikipedia His pardon spree has wiped out $1.3 billion in restitution payments that convicted criminals owed directly to their victims and to American taxpayers. House

The pattern is hard to miss. Convicted fraudster Paul Walczak withheld more than $10 million from his employees' paychecks to fund a lavish lifestyle and after his mother donated $1 million to a †rump super PAC, he received a full pardon without returning a single dollar to his victims. MS NOW A Venezuelan Italian banker was pardoned after his daughter donated $3.5 million to a pro-†rump super PAC. GV Wire Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley — convicted of bank fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to defraud the United States — received full pardons, walking away from a combined $17.8 million in court-ordered restitution. CA

In many cases, †rump also removed the requirement that these individuals pay restitution and fines, costing their victims an estimated $1.3 billion. Wikipedia The pardon office's own former leader was fired after refusing to play along, and testified to the Senate that the Justice Department now values "political loyalty above the fair and responsible administration of justice."

This is the same man who calls himself a champion of the forgotten American. He hasn't forgotten them He's just decided they don't matter as much as his donors.

Democracy Is Not a Spectator Sport

†rump's regime has pushed through $23 billion in weapons sales to foreign governments without a congressional vote, using emergency powers to bypass the legislative branch entirely. A federal commission composed entirely of †rump-appointed members just approved a commemorative gold coin bearing his image. Former FBI Director James Comey has been subpoenaed as part of a politically-driven investigation run by a †rump-appointed prosecutor.

These are not isolated incidents. This is a pattern of a president who treats democratic institutions as inconveniences, and the rule of law as something that applies to everyone but him.

If You Showed Up Saturday

Organizers say this weekend's rallies are on pace to be the biggest protest in U.S. history — larger than the Women's March, larger than the previous No Kings events that drew millions. Bruce Springsteen performed in St. Paul. Bernie Sanders spoke. Joan Baez and Jane Fonda were there.

But the most important person there was you — and the person next to you, and the one behind them.

Remember: 2,800 people in Joplin showed up to fight a data center. Millions of people are showed up this weekend to fight for democracy itself. It is estimated that over eight million people attended a rally on March 28. In Joplin, our estimate is over 800, even though only 110 registered!

With that all said, way to go, Joplin, and put the pedal to the metal because this regime must be impeached, voted out of office, and/or facing a judge at their criminal trial in the near future.

Well, What Now?

More than eight million people showed up Saturday. That's not a moment — that's a movement. But movements die when the crowd goes home and nothing follows. Here's how you keep your foot on the gas:

Show up to the March 31 mass call. The No Kings Coalition is hosting a national follow-up call Tuesday, March 31. Hear from organizers, celebrate what happened, and find out what's next. Register at nokings.org.

Protect the 2026 midterms. The single most powerful thing this movement can do is turn out the vote in November. Sign up to be a poll worker, escort a neighbor to the polls, or volunteer with Election Protection at 866ourvote.org. Democracy doesn't protect itself — people do.

Keep making noise locally. Joplin showed up. 800 people in a city this size is extraordinary. Now build on it. Find your people, stay connected, and don't let the energy from Saturday dissolve into the week.

Name what you see. Write. Post. Talk to your neighbors. Authoritarianism depends on people deciding it's not worth the argument. It's worth the argument.

Support the work. Donate to organizations litigating constitutional violations — the ACLU, your state's attorney general, voter protection groups. The courts have been the most consistent check on this administration. That work needs resources. And if you want to stay connected with us locally, find us at Citizens Against Tyranny and 50501 Joplin and follow us on Signal and Discord. We're organizing, we're not stopping, and we want you with us!

The regime is counting on your exhaustion. Don't give it to them. In America, we don't do kings.

See Thanks to Joplin video.