Live Updates: Here’s what is going on at ‘No Kings’ protests in Miami and Broward

Inflatable animal costumes, protest signs and yellow outfits filled the streets across South Florida Saturday during a second round of nationwide “No Kings” rallies — the same weekend President Donald Trump will be at Mar-a-Lago for a $1 million-a-plate MAGA Inc. fundraiser.

There are at least 80 rallies planned across Florida, of the more than 2,700 scheduled nationwide, according to organizers.

Here’s what’s happening in South Florida:

Perspectives from veteran, parent in Bayside Park

At Bayfront Park in downtown Miami, hundreds of protesters began to gather early Saturday morning to stand up against what they call an authoritarian regime. A crowd made up primarily of middle-aged residents held handmade signs with slogans such as “The United States needs rules not rulers,” and “WE ARE ALL IMMIGRANTS.”

One 82-year-old protester, who identified himself only as Ed, was dressed as Uncle Sam. “The last time I marched was in 1966 against the Vietnam War,” said the coast guard veteran and retired ophthalmologist who lives in Coral Gables.

“I think we’re in a worse place.” Ed, who declined to use his full name because his son works for the U.S. government, said that he began to worry when President Trump “started not listening to the court decisions.”

Some children were at the Miami protest with their parents, including four-year-old Ellie MacLaren, who was sitting on the grass near the Torch of Friendship flipping through a picture book of dragons and castles and placing dragon stickers on the pages. Her mother, Caitlin MacLaren, is a nurse and South Miami resident.

“We want our kids to live in a safe country where they can speak their opinions freely and their rights are protected,” said the mother of two.

“We are concerned about the crumbling education system, reproductive rights being taken away, freedom of speech being taken away. We are here to fight for their future,” said MacLaren.

-Clara-Sophia Daly

Music set a celebratory mood in Miami

As attendees gathered at Bayside Park, Bad Bunny was blasting from the loudspeakers next to a sign that read, “BAD BUNNY 2026 — MAKE PERREO GREAT AGAIN.”

Organizers eventually turned the music down for a slate of planned speeches and programming, including from local Democrats, prompting a, “more Bad Bunny!” from the crowd.

Jordan Levin, a city of Miami resident, organized an ad-hoc choir to sing at the protest today. She created her own rendition of the Woody Guthrie song “All You Fascists Bound to Lose,” and taught it to the crowd during the day’s program.

Earlier in the day, the group also formed a circle under the shade of trees in the park singing Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up.”

-Clara-Sophia Daly

Roadside protests in Hollywood

By 10:30 a.m., hundreds of people had filled Young Circle Park in Downtown Hollywood, signs in hand and many proudly displaying the theme “No Kings.”

Lined up along the roadway, they faced passing cars that honked in support, each beep met with a wave of cheers from the crowd. Organizers and volunteers moved through the park, helping coordinate the growing turnout. Amid the sea of handmade signs, American flags waved brightly in the morning sun.

-Milena Malaver

Inflatable animal costumes are the hot protest symbol

At Bayfront Park, Stevie Gomez, 29, spoke to the Miami Herald from inside an inflatable elephant costume, which she said she wore to show that the protests are peaceful.

Gomez, whose family immigrated to the United States, said she finds it terrible to see how they are treating immigrants.

“The elephant signifies a really good memory. They may be thinking they are getting away with what they are doing, but we will never forget,” she said.

In Hollywood, Claudia Schultz, 73, wanted to make sure she’d been seen. The lifelong Fort Lauderdale resident stood out amongst the large crowd in a pink inflatable pig costume, that she bought just for Saturday’s protest. “They want us to be violent,” she said. “You can’t get any less violent than this.” For Schultz, this was her way of standing up to a presidential administration she said is “destroying our nation.”

-Clara-Sophia Daly and Milena Malaver

Healthcare workers speak out in Hollywood

Zoraida Rivera Hidalgo spent 30 years working as a physician in Hollywood and said she’s watched the healthcare system deteriorate over time. Once an independent voter, she’s now a registered Democrat and has seen more and more people lose their insurance, including her three adult sons.

At the event, she held up her own version of a MAGA sign — “Morons Are Governing America” — and wore a shiny paper crown that read “No Kings.” She’s concerned about repeals to the Affordable Care Act, calling it “unthinkable.”

Another attendee, Talia Adderly, 26, was sporting her SEIU Healthcare Florida Local 1991 shirt — the union representing nurses, physicians, doctors, and healthcare professionals across the Jackson Health System. She said that management recently told them the public hospital, which depends heavily on Medicare and Medicaid funding, is at risk of losing millions.

“We just don’t want that falling on the backs of our nurses, our doctors [and] our social workers,” said Adderly, who serves as a spokesperson for the union. “We don’t want these big tax breaks that only fund billionaires.”

-Milena Malaver

Local officials, organizers join the cause

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said she came to the protest in Hollywood to support her constituents’ effort to fight back against Trump’s administration which she called “authoritarian” and “unconstitutional.”

Wasserman Schultz criticized what she described as a “Republican forced government shutdown” and warned of rising health care costs if Congress fails to extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits, which would affect hundreds of thousands of people in her district. “There are people in our community came from other countries where there was authoritarian rule, and a number of them said to me, they know what it’s like to live under an autocracy where the people had no say, and they don’t want to see this country go that way,” she said.

Miami-Dade school board member Joe Geller and former U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia joined the protests in Miami. Whistleblower Alexander Vindman, a witness in Trump’s first impeachment who’s also reportedly eyeing a U.S. Senate run, took to the stage to address the crowd at Bayfront Park.

“Every politician who rubber-stamps Trump’s actions, who refuses to represent Floridians and the American people, is complicit,” Vindman told the protesters. “They are illegitimate. And they will be swept away — one by one — in every election to come.”

Local organizers from Go Vote Miami, Beyond the Bars, Educated We Stand and the League of Women Voters also gave speeches.

-Milena Malaver and Clara-Sophia Daly

Far-right Proud Boys verbally spar with protesters

Enrique Tarrio again attended Miami’s “No Kings” protest – like he did in June – livestreaming his interactions with protesters on social media, as organizers repeatedly told the crowd not to engage with him. The former leader of the Proud Boys was handed the longest sentence of anyone involved in the January 6 Capitol riots — sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy for his role in organizing the attack, though he was not in D.C. in person. He has since been pardoned by Donald Trump and lives in Miami.

“Walk away from the agitator,” organizers told the crowd using megaphones. “Please do not engage with any outside agitators.” National and local organizers of the “No Kings” protests held safety trainings in the lead-up to Saturday’s rallies.

“I support all these people, especially her with the bullhorn,” said Tarrio.

“These protesters are 100 percent expressing the same rights as during January 6,” said Barry Ramey, a Proud Boys member from Broward who was livestreaming Tarrio’s interactions with the crowd.

People surrounding them yelled “pedophile defender.” He lit up a cigarette as people yelled, “loser, loser” and “fascist.” Two officers from the city of Miami Police Department came into the crowd.

“Very peaceful crowd,” said Sergeant K. Williams, from the City of Miami Police, who escorted the two Proud Boys members out of the protest.

-Clara-Sophia Daly

Beachfront protests in Ft. Lauderdale

As diners enjoyed their meals at the beachfront restaurants lining A1A in Fort Lauderdale Beach, their attention drifted toward the scene unfolding just in front on them. Hundreds of protesters lined both sides of the roadway, their chants and cheers carrying over the sound of the surf. Waving signs high, the crowd erupted each time a car passed, their energy pressing against the metal barricades that held them back from spilling onto the roadway.

-Milena Malaver

Faith leaders join the protests

Various faith leaders and religious groups joined the national day of action, according to organizers at Interfaith Alliance, a national interfaith advocacy group. Leading up to the peaceful protest, organizers encouraged pastors to wear religious garb and invite their congregants to bring signs and wear yellow (the protest’s official color).

Faith leaders joined the peaceful protest at over 90 “No Kings” events throughout the state, said Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president & CEO of Interfaith Alliance. “We know that this moment is part of a broader awakening of civic activism in support of democracy,” Raushenbush told the Miami Herald. “People of faith are helping to lead that surge, showing moral courage by peacefully standing up for the civil rights and dignity of every person.” In Coral Gables, Pastor Laurie Hafner organized a bus to the Torch of Friendship for members of her congregation who wanted to participate in the rally.

“This rally carries on the legacy of people of faith who have used non-violent protest to stand up to authoritarianism and attacks on civil rights throughout our country’s history,” Hafner wrote in a recent newsletter to members of the Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ. “This is our moment to stand together on this sacred tradition and to advocate for freedom, justice, and the dignity of every person.”

-Lauren Costantino

Planning behind the protests

Miami organizers said the June protest had close to 3,000 people, and they expected even more this Saturday.

“[Protesters] know, if nothing else, this is a good first step to be in a community of people who want to stand up and speak out and protect our democracy,” said Cindy Lerner, one of the Miami “No Kings” organizers. “We’re hoping we’re going to have probably closer to 5,000 people.”

Other rallies are scheduled in Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Coral Springs and Florida City throughout the day.

National organizers encouraged attendees to wear yellow as a sign of “collective strength in the face of oppression,” and focus on “community and joy” during Saturday’s events – encouraging humorous signs and costumes, like the viral inflatable frog outfit worn by protesters in Portland and Chicago in recent weeks.

“We are pushing back against authoritarianism through community and joy,” an email to attendees across the country said Friday. “Remember that we are not only protesting an authoritarian power grab, we are building the community we need to resist for years to come.”

A White House spokesperson said, “Who cares?” when asked about Florida’s protests. Gov. Ron DeSantis has previously chided the events, telling Florida drivers ahead of June’s protests that they won’t be at fault if they hit protesters if they feel threatened under Florida’s anti-riot law. The governor’s office said in a statement Friday, “DeSantis has clearly stated his position on violence and disorder.”

Both national and local organizers of the “No Kings” protests have held safety training on how to “de-escalate if there are any outside antagonizers,” according to Lerner.

Protesters are likely to carry signs on a range of issues, but the overriding message, according to national organizers is “against the abuses of power, cruelty, and corruption.”

“I find it very therapeutic to go to these protests,” Lerner said. “It’s people who care deeply about protecting our democracy, protecting our freedom of speech and want to make sure that the country is what it was founded to be.”

This story was originally published October 18, 2025 at 4:30 AM.