Thousands March Through Downtown Duluth in No Kings Day Demonstration

Thousands of participants from across the Northland converged on downtown Duluth Saturday for the third annual No Kings Day National Day of Action, marching from Lake Avenue and Superior Street and the Duluth Public Library to Duluth City Hall, where a program of local leaders and speakers closed out the afternoon.

Six organizations drove the demonstration: Duluth Indivisible, Good Trouble Duluth, Zenith City Indivisible, Duluth 50501, Northland Faith Communities and Indivisible: Rise Up Superior. The coalition, joined by Northland faith communities and allied groups, coordinated with city authorities throughout to keep the event peaceful and safe.

Keeping it nonviolent was not incidental for organizers; volunteers called safety one of the most important parts of the whole day. Volunteer Dale Odegard addressed the crowd directly on the point: "You know, violence does not help anything. And actually, it will make things worse." He pressed that same call beyond the march route, urging demonstrators to take their frustrations into personal conversations: "Don't be afraid to tell people what you think. Friends, family, tell them how bad you feel about this situation and how things are going."

Participant Janice Cobb framed her attendance as a civic obligation. "I had to be here. Because if we don't come out and do something, who's going to?" she said. Barb Juntune came with her grandchildren in mind. "I'm concerned about the way our country is going and what's happening politically. And I have grandchildren that this is going to affect. It's got my kids affected, but I want to bring a positive spin to it. And I just want, there's hope. There really is hope. And I think things like this shows how much hope people are feeling at the moment," Juntune said.

Saturday's march is part of a nationwide campaign organized by Indivisible.org, which launched the No Kings Day demonstrations in June 2025 to protest decisions made by the United States government. Republican Party of Minnesota Chair Alex Plechash released a statement calling the protests "pure political theater." WDIO reached out to area federal representatives for comment; no responses had been reported as of Saturday's coverage.

Organizers closed the City Hall program by urging attendees to contact elected officials, participate in public comment periods and attend local government meetings, framing continued civic engagement as the natural extension of a third straight year in the streets.