No Kings Day protests planned for Mid-Columbia Gorge Saturday

Oct 16

By Tom Peterson

The Dalles, Ore., Oct. 16, 2025 — Local residents in the Columbia River Gorge will join “millions” of Americans nationwide in a coordinated day of nonviolent protest for the second No Kings Day of Action on Saturday, Oct. 18.

Protests are planned for The Dalles, Hood River, White Salmon, Stevenson, Hermiston, and Pendleton.

According to Dean Myerson, treasurer of the Wasco County Democratic Central Committee, more than 2,500 events are planned across the country.

The national movement, known as “No Kings,” was launched by the grassroots organization Indivisible and its partner groups to express opposition to what they describe as authoritarian overreach in government and to reaffirm the principle that power in the United States rests with the people.

Indivisible, founded in 2016, describes its mission as empowering local activism and promoting government accountability. According to its website, the organization coordinates nationwide rallies, including the No Kings events, to emphasize democratic values and encourage civic participation.

A protest against U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz lined the sidwalk near Spooky’s Restaurant on West 6th Street in The Dalles when Bentz came to town to answer some tough questions about Trump policies and the “Big Beautiful Bill” at a Rotary Club of The Dalles meeting on Aug. 20.

The No Kings rally in The Dalles will take place on Saturday, Oct. 18, from noon to 2 p.m., on West Sixth Street between Cherry Heights and Webber streets. Protestors will meet on west Eighth Street at noon before moving to Sixth Street.

The local event is being hosted by Protect Oregon’s Progress, the local chapter of Indivisible.

Similar rallies are planned across the Columbia River Gorge. In Hood River, participants will gather at the Downtown Salmon Fountain from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., while in White Salmon, a rally will be held on Willow Street from noon to 2 p.m. A separate demonstration is scheduled in Stevenson, Wash., from noon to 1:30 p.m.

“As President Trump continues to send troops to our cities against the wishes of the local people and force a drastic increase in health insurance premiums, triggering a government closure, residents of The Dalles are saying no,” said Myerson, a member of the local Indivisible group steering committee. “Our peaceful day of action is going to bring together local residents from all walks of life who share a simple message: We don’t do kings in America.”

The protest is the latest in a string of local displays of disapproval from some voters throughout the Gorge since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2025.

Hundreds of protestors showed up in the Port of Hood River on April 5 for the national Hands Off protest that were held around the United States in protest of policies being enacted by the Trump Administration.

A peaceful protest in February saw more than 200 locals show up to protest blanket deportation policies put forth by the Trump Administration.

On June 14, more than five million people across all 50 states joined No Kings in the largest single-day protest yet against President Trump’s authoritarianism, Myerson said. The October 18 day of action is the next step in this growing movement, channeling that energy into yet another coordinated, peaceful mobilization.

We’re excited to join with other groups organizing the No Kings peaceful protests across the country including ACLU, American Federation of Teachers, Common Defense, 50501, Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible, League of Conservation Voters, MoveOn, National Nurses United, Public Citizen, SEIU, among others, he said in a press release.

“As President Trump continues to send troops to our cities against the wishes of the local people and force a drastic increase in health insurance premiums, triggering a government closure, residents of The Dalles are saying no,” said Dean Myerson, a member of the local Indivisible steering committee. “Our peaceful day of action is going to bring together local residents from all walks of life who share a simple message: We don’t do kings in America.”