No Kings Protest October 2025

What a Great Time.

I printed some signs beforehand and backed them with cardboard. The Stand Up for Science guys thought that the "Defenestrate . . ." one was a little Too Spicy. Several folks took pictures of the "Charlie Kirk . . ." one, so I reckon that was the spicier one at the event.

The march was officially from 10:00 to 13:00 at the Civic Center Parking Lot in downtown Atlanta, about a 15 minute walk East from the Civic Center MARTA station. I arrived around 11:00. The crowd was rowdy but peaceful. We heard a bunch of speakers, some of them famous. The organizers specifically requested no sticks longer than 30 cm, but that was widely ignored. They also wanted us to bring only a tiny transparent ruck, advice which I and many others also ignored. The ACLU was out in force, with observers passing out "Your Rights" cards. A lot of volunteers were also passing out water bottles. I brought my own water in my illegal ruck. I spotted a couple of hobby drones above the crowd and what I took to be a state helicopter buzzed around for most of the time we were in the parking lot. WXIA was also in a copter for at least part of the time. Their heli was clearly marked.

At around 12:50 we formed up and marched West along Ralph Mcgill Boulevard, then South down Piedmont Avenue to the capitol, a distance of about 2 km. I found a couple of AFS folks in the crowd, as well as a long-time juggling buddy. Cops kept Piedmont and Ralph Mcgill closed but didn't interfere with us.

At around 13:30 I peeled off and walked to the Five Points MARTA station. All entrances except one tiny one on Forsyth Street were closed due to the controversial remodel. Some Bright Spark at MARTA decided to Single Track the trains on No Kings Day, so getting out of L5P was, well, Complicated. I made it back to my car and phone at around 14:15. No arrests, no shots fired, no kettling, no beatings, no teargas. Phew.