Sherrill, Watson Coleman To Speak At Princeton 'No Kings' Rally Saturday

PRINCETON, NJ — Gov. Mikie Sherrill and U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman are among the scheduled speakers at a "No Kings" rally set for Saturday morning at Monument Park. The rally is part of a nationwide day of protest that organizers say could draw millions of participants across the country.

The Princeton event, organized by Indivisible Princeton and the ACLU of New Jersey, is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in front of the George Washington statue at 1 Monument Drive. Organizers say they expect thousands of Princeton-area residents to attend.

The rally is one of more than 1,000 planned nationwide on Saturday and one of 54 events planned across New Jersey, according to organizers. A separate No Kings rally is scheduled for noon at the State House in Trenton.

"In America, we don't do kings," organizers said in a statement. The Princeton event is framed around opposition to what organizers describe as authoritarianism, billionaire-favored economic policies and the militarization of democratic institutions. Organizers did not specify which federal policies the Princeton rally would directly address.

The program begins with music by Ken Fredeen at 9:30 a.m., followed by a welcome from host Lynda Dodd of Indivisible Princeton. Sherrill is scheduled to speak at 10:05 a.m. Other speakers include state Sen. Andrew Zwicker, Ezra Rosenberg of the ACLU-NJ, Damon King of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, Ana Paola Pazmiño of Resistencia en Acción, Jennifer Howard of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, and Drew Arnay of the Climate Revolution Action Network. Musical performances by Sharleen Leahy and Fredeen are also planned throughout the program.

The No Kings movement previously mobilized an estimated 5 million people for a June 2025 rally and drew approximately 7 million participants at more than 2,700 events across all 50 states in October 2025.

An estimated 5,000 people attended a No Kings event at Princeton's Monument Park during that second round of protests, according to Patch reporting.

Organizers say they are aiming for 12 million nationwide participants on Saturday, a figure they say would represent roughly 3.5 percent of the U.S. population and signal sufficient public momentum for political change.

All No Kings events are organized around a shared commitment to nonviolent protest, according to organizers, who say trained de-escalation leads will be present at each local event. The ACLU has held virtual safety trainings for participants ahead of the rallies.

The protests have drawn criticism from Republican officials. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has characterized participants as including what she described as "Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals." House Speaker Mike Johnson called the rallies a "Hate America" rally in a Fox News interview.

The coalition behind No Kings nationally includes the American Federation of Teachers, Public Citizen, Indivisible, MoveOn and the American Civil Liberties Union.

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