The “No Kings” demonstration protesting President Donald Trump’s administration was among more than 3,100 nationwide protests, topping totals of previous No Kings rallies held last October and June.

Marches and demonstrations took place in every state in America, plus events in Canada, Mexico and elsewhere. A flagship rally at the Minnesota State Capitol included Jane Fonda, and singers Bruce Springsteen and Joan Baez, according to the No Kings website.

New Ulm No Kings participants included Courtland native Adam Olson and his wife Victoria Horberg-Olson, a Chicago native. The couple now lives in Minneapolis.

“We’ve been to rallies in Chicago and Minneapolis but we came here to be with family and felt we could make more of an impact here,” said Horberg-Olson.

The No Kings rally returned to New Ulm Saturday. The group gather on the sidewalk along Highway 14 from Franklin to Garden Street. Photo by Clay Schuldt

“I came here to be with family and stand for change,” said Adam Olson.

Garrett R. Ebling of Indivisible New Ulm was among several speakers at North Park.

“Thank you for standing together in this moment. We are here because we believe in something simple, powerful, and profoundly American: that nobody stands above all the people, and no king belongs in a democracy,” he said.

Ebling said No Kings gatherings are not out of anger, but out of conviction, from millions of voices that refuse to be silenced.

“Conviction that our future is not written by a powerful few, but by the determined many. Conviction that solidarity is not just a word — it is a force,” he said. “Today we raise our voices not just to oppose concentrated power, but to affirm the power we already hold. The power of community, participation, refusing to be divided or discouraged. The power of saying together, we decide. We shape our future. We are the authors of our own democracy.”

Eileen Campbell attended Saturday’s No Kings rally in New Ulm with extra protest signs, handing them out to those without signs. Photo by Clay Schuldt

Ebling called the collective voice of the people a roar, a force that has changed nations before and will shape the path of this country ahead.

“When we act in solidarity, when we speak as one indivisible unit, when we refuse to be intimidated or ignored, we embody the very spirit of democracy. No kings, no crowns,” he said.

New Ulm League of Women Voters President Ruth Ann Webster urged people to vote.

“A number of women worked for 80 years to get the 19th Amendment passed so women could vote,” she said. “Once they got to vote, they knew they could vote, they knew their job was not done. We are here to help women register to vote. Like our sign says, marching and rallying is not enough. You must vote and help others vote.”

Pam Krzmarzick of Sleepy Eye said she learned about a group called the Singing Resistance in the Twin Cities and decided it was needed here.

Staff photo by Fritz Busch Several hundred people held signs and sang on North Broadway between Garden and Franklin Street Saturday afternoon as part of the No Kings Rally. The national event was observed in many cities across the United States. Pictured at right is Keith Klawitter of Morgan who held an old bag of golf clubs.

Earlier this year, the group began with a few hundred Minnesotans peacefully singing songs with lyrics of hope, resisting authoritarianism and opposing ICE (immigration and customs enforcement) in streets and church sanctuaries.

Group videos rapidly went viral. The group’s social media gained tens of thousands of follows in less than a month.

New Ulm singers Therese Schimek and Beth Zabel continued to sing and chant at the Highway 14 rally after singing in North Park.

A wide variety of signs were carried by rally participants. Messages on the signs included “It’s actually pretty cool to care about other people,” “Congress do your job,” “No kings since 1776.” “I can’t afford this wannabe king and his wars,” “God save the First Amendment and due process” and “Empty the concentration jails,” to mention a few.

Some people attended the rally without signs, but some seasoned protesters brought multiple signs. Eileen Campbell came the rally with seven extra signs she had made for previous protest. She handed the signs out to anyone with a spare hand.

Anne-Donnelly and Sheldon Rieke gathered at the Broadway and Center Street for the No Kings protest. Though most of the protesters were gathered along N. Broadway/Highway 14, Anne Rieke said they preferred Broadway and Center Street because it was at the heart of New Ulm. Photo by Clay Schuldt

Campbell said she was tempted to join the protest in the flagship rally in the Twins Cities, but she believed it was important to stay in New Ulm to represent rural voices.

No Kings Protestors were not limited to the stretch of Highway 14. A handful of protestors gathered at the intersection of Broadway and Center Street as well. The Broadway and Center intersection had been the site of previous No Kings protests, but Indivisible chose to move the protest to N. Broadway/Highway 14. Some protesters preferred to stay at the Center and Broadway intersection.

“We didn’t want to waste a prime spot,” Joni Steinbach said. She stood next to the Brown County Historical Society Museum, holding a sign that said “No King, No Dictators, No Fascists.” Steinbach had recycled the sign from previous protests.

Anne Donnelly-Rieke said she preferred to protest at Center and Broadway because it was at the heart of New Ulm.

Many of the protesters at Broadway and Center would rejoin the larger group at North Park following the rally.

Joni Steinbach shows off her protest sign, made from previous signs she has used at past protests. Photo by Clay Schuldt

Roughly 370 people attended Saturday’s No Kings Rally in New Ulm, with most lined up along Highway 14. Photo by Clay Schuldt