Outside the federal courthouse in Great Falls on Saturday, June 14, 2025, demonstrators gathered as part of the nationwide ‘No Kings’ rally — part of a coordinated effort happening in cities across the country. While speakers are voicing concerns about President Donald Trump, organizers say the broader goal is to push back on what they see as an overreach of presidential power.
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The protest is one of hundreds across the country this weekend, organized by more than 200 advocacy groups including Public Citizen, the ACLU, the American Federation of Teachers, Black Voters Matter, and Indivisible.
From major cities like Washington, D.C., to smaller communities like Great Falls, the message is the same: in a democracy, power rests with the people, not a single individual.
Protesters voiced frustrations over topics ranging from reproductive rights, immigration policies, cuts in social services, to the overall operations of the current administration.
One protester, Marlene Olson, says, “I'm here to fight against the way that our government is running right now. I'm so disappointed in how our government is running.”
Whether they’re speaking up for the first time, or have been protesting for decades, hundreds of Great Falls community members came together to push back against what they call rising authoritarianism in America.
Nick Marino of Great Falls says this was his first protest. He explains, “There is a rule of law and there is a process. And that's not happening.”
Francie Robertson was another protester, and at 80 years old, says she’s been protesting since 1963.
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She says, “We have to follow our Constitution. It was written with a checks and balances system that we need to appreciate and we need to respect, and it's not being done.”
Some protesters say the issue is not Democrats versus Republicans, but an attack on democracy as a whole.
Olson says, “We are one people in this country, and we should be treated like one people in this country by our president who is here to serve the entire country — Democrats and Republicans alike.”
Marino, who says he typically votes Republican at the city and state level, adds, “It breaks my heart, it really does. Because as Americans, we're better than what we're getting now.”
Waving American flags, demonstrators insisted that patriotism means defending democracy, and not idolizing leaders.
