Thousands gathering for ‘No Kings’ rallies today across the Triangle
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Residents of the Triangle and across central North Carolina are taking to streets, sidewalks and parking lots Saturday as part of the nationwide “No Kings” movement, opposing the policies of President Donald Trump.
Dozens of No Kings events were scheduled across the state from the mountains to the coast. Bigger cities such as Raleigh and Charlotte had multiple events and many smaller communities are holding rallies for the first time.
In and around the Triangle, protests are expected in Durham, Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Cary, Apex, Clayton, Sanford, Pittsboro, Wake Forest, Lillingon, Louisburg, Roxboro, Rocky Mount. Statewide, 80 events are planned according to organizers of the national movement.
This is the third No Kings event with 2,500 rallies planned nationwide. Trump supporters have scorned the events on social media, and said the gatherings are an unpatriotic nuisance and hindrance to traffic. While the rallies are billed as peaceful protests, some planners have been met with promises of counter-protests that could include members of militia groups.
The News & Observer will cover the events live throughout the day. Bookmark this page and check back for the latest updates.
2 p.m., Raleigh: Protesters carrying signs make their way silently through the streets of downtown Raleigh. Their destination: the State Capitol.
They came silently, but showed up to make some noise.
“If we vote our power, a wannabe king will not be coronated,” Rev. William Barber said during the event.
“If we vote our power,” the crowd screamed back.
1 p.m., Durham: With a guitar in her hands and a microphone to her lips, Kathleen Hannan led members of her singing group, Bodies, Voices & Spirit, and others drawn to the melody in various protest songs.
“We are here, in our city, our love for each other will carry us through.”
Hannan said she’s old enough to remember the Civil Rights movement and how its many songs united protesters spiritually and politically. And song gives the group something more than being against Trump.
“None of us like Trump’s policies,” Hannan said. “But we’re finding something with each other, with our neighbors. And song is the absolute, in my opinion, best way to feel that. You really feel it.”
12:40 p.m., Pittsboro: An organizer of the Pittsboro event called the office of Sen. Thom Tillis over the loudspeaker during the event and let protesters leave a message on his voicemail.
“No kings!” they shouted. “No kings!”
12:30 p.m., Durham: Dan Read, 72, sees parallels between the Vietnam War he protested in the 1970s and the Iran war today.
Read said he sees similarly vague goals and no idea when the war will end. Read, who served in the U.S. Army from 1974 to 1976, said bombing Iran won’t change the hearts of the Iranian people and will make peace harder to achieve. “I’m sad that my grandchildren, especially, are gonna inherit this [expletive],” Read said.
12:25 p.m., Pittsboro: At least 500 people came out for the event in Pittsboro, spreading out across the common area in front of the Chatham County Justice Center.
Several of the rally’s speakers emphasized the importance of keeping hope and doing “something, anything” to show dissatisfaction with current government policies.
“Put one foot in front of the other,” a singer admonished from the Justice Center’s steps, between speakers who talked about democracy in American history.
Jan Herboth, 75, was at the Pittsboro rally, one of several No Kings events she said she has attended. Herboth said she never felt compelled to protest in her life until the first Trump administration when she traveled with several family members to Washington for the initial Women’s March.
“I had to come out” Saturday, she said. “I didn’t feel I had a choice.”
Tabitha Garcia of Pittsboro brought her daughter Sadie, who is 10. They listened as speakers talked about students losing health care or worrying about immigrant parents being arrested while their kids are at school.
Garcia held up a sign that said, “The only monarchs we want are butterflies.”
Like others, Garcia said she was glad to be around others who are dissatisfied with the way things have been going in the country.
“I want a future for my child,” she said. “I’d like a future for myself as well.”
12:17 p.m.: There have been no reports of conflicts or arrests and no visible counter-protests in the Triangle. Police have been watching traffic, but their presence has been minimal.
Noon, Raleigh: Hundreds of people have lined both sides of Capital Boulevard waving signs and cheering as cars pass honking their horns.
While the sentiment of the gathering was serious, the scene was lively.’
“I think you get very lonely watching the news and wondering about the state of things and how you can do something,” said Mary Block. “It feels good to see so many people that see what I do, that there’s such cruelty to other people. I don’t understand my country.”
11:35 a.m., Raleigh: Protesters have lined both sides of Capital Boulevard, carrying signs reading “No ICE, no war, no Trump,” “No kings” and “Fight fascism.”
“What’s going on our country is not right,” Dr. Mabel Watson told The N&O. “He’s just ruthless. He doesn’t care about anybody else.”
11:10 a.m., Durham: Mac Kendall, of Durham, said he was inspired by the example Minnesota residents set by protesting the ICE operation in Minneapolis in January.
Kendall, carrying a Minnesota state flag Saturday, said left the North Star State in 1980 but still has family there.
“It’s a small community, Durham, but here we are representing ourselves and trying to fight against what’s going on,” Kendall said.
The protesters marched down West Chapel Hill Street to the beat of drums and tambourines, chanting “no more war” and “lock him up” and singing “everybody deserves to be free.”
10:45 a.m., Durham: Thousands of people have encircled Durham’s CCB Plaza.
The slow rhythm of beating drums and shaking tamborines provided the percussion needed for those gathered to sing protest chants like “I am not afraid, I am not afraid, I will live for liberation, ‘cause I know why I was made.”
This story was originally published March 28, 2026 at 10:13 AM.
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