Crowds will gather on sidewalks and other public spaces across Central Wisconsin on Saturday, March 28 for the third “No Kings” event since President Donald Trump’s January 2025 inauguration.
The event follows two similarly named events held on June 14 and Oct. 18 during which hundreds of local residents joined millions of Americans in what organizers call “a sustained national resistance to tyranny,” according to the No Kings event website.
Over 300 organizations are listed as “partners” in presenting the event including Indivisible, the ACLU, AFSCME, Human Rights Campaign, Planned Parenthood and Greenpeace.
More than 3,000 events are planned nationwide on March 28, which surpasses the 2,100 events planned for the first No Kings event and the 2,700 events on Oct. 18 that drew five million and seven million attendees, respectively. Event locations are listed on the No Kings website.
Several events that happened in the months since the October No Kings events are expected to prompt increased attendance including the killing of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by agents of the Department of Homeland Security, executive-authorized military actions in Venezuela and Iran, and an ongoing partial government shutdown, according to the No Kings website.
“Just months ago, millions of people took to the streets across thousands of events to say no to Trump’s abuses of power, and today that movement is only growing,” Ezra Levin, Indivisible co-executive director, said in a March 18 news release. “With every ICE raid, every escalation abroad, and every abuse of power at home, Americans are rising up in opposition to Trump’s attempt to rule through fear and force. Each day Trump crosses a new red line, and more people are deciding they’ve had enough.”
No Kings events are committed to “nonviolent action and no civil disobedience,” according to the website. Participants are expected to de-escalate confrontations and act lawfully. Weapons of any kind should not be brought to the events, which are held on public property.
Here’s where the March 28 protests are planned to be held in Central Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Rapids
10 a.m. to noon March 28 at the corner of Lincoln Street and East Riverview Expressway. The event in Wisconsin Rapids is organized by Rapids Response, according to the group’s Facebook page.
“If you’ve been feeling frustrated, unheard, or just ready to stand up and be counted, this is your chance,” Rapids Response wrote on Facebook about the event. “Show up, bring a sign, and stand with your community.”
Stevens Point
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 28 on Clark Street east of Second Street. The event will also feature a series of speakers at the Mathias Mitchell Public Square beginning at 11 a.m. The Resistance Singers plan to lead songs and a dance group during the event.
Specific organizations involved in planning the event include Indivisible Central Wisconsin, Progressive Action Organization, Portage County Power Moves, Portage County Democratic Party, Socialist Alternative Central Wisconsin and Resistance Singers, according to Indivisible Central Wisconsin’s website for the event.
Wausau
Noon to 2 p.m. March 28 on Rib Mountain Drive between Starling and Parrot lanes. Attendees are asked to park legally on side streets and not in parking lots of businesses, according to the event organizers. Carpooling is encouraged.
“Please join us on Rib Mountain Drive, and bring your friends,” event organizers wrote on the event listing. “We need to make this a bigger protest than the last!”
Marshfield
1-3 p.m. March 28 from Wenzel Plaza to Veterans Parkway. The event in Marshfield is organized by We the People of Marshfield, according to the event listing. Organizers reiterate the event is “peaceful” and asks attendees to refrain from including profanity on signs and in responses to counter protestors.
“When our families are under attack and costs continue to rise, silence is not an option,” organizers wrote on the event listing. “We will defend ourselves and our communities against this administration’s efforts to alienate us from one another. Together, we are stronger. We have a shared commitment to a peaceful gathering. We expect all participants to choose a peaceful response to any who disagree with our values.”
Merrill
1-3 p.m. March 28 at Kitchenette Park. The event in Merrill is organized by volunteers, according to the event listing. Organizers restate the event’s goals and principles including a commitment to nonviolent action and ask participants to de-escalate confrontations.
“On March 28th, rise up, take to the streets, and say it loud: no thrones, no crowns, no kings. We’re not watching history happen – we’re making it,” organizers wrote on the event description.
Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Contact him at epfantz@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: ‘No Kings’ rallies planned March 28 across Central Wisconsin
Reporting by Erik Pfantz, USA TODAY NETWORK – Wisconsin / Stevens Point Journal
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