A second proclamation of No Kings: Rallies in Detroit, Ann Arbor
Over ten thousand people rallied in Detroit for the No Kings protest, joining millions nationwide pushing back against President Donald Trump’s policies on everything from tariffs to immigration raids.
Protest signs in Detroit for the No Kings rally on October 18, 2025.
Editor’s note: Some photos in this story contain language that may be considered offensive to some readers.
Millions turned out at No Kings protests nationwide as a pushback against President Donald Trump’s policies on everything from tariffs to immigration raids.
Republicans criticized the protests — calling them the “hate America” rallies.
In Detroit, over ten thousand people rallied. The event started in Roosevelt Park in front of Michigan Central Depot.
Detroiter Imani didn’t want to give her last name out of fear for her safety. She wore a unicorn costume in solidarity with protesters in Portland.
“Portland is fighting hate with fun and being silly, and I like that,” she said.
Imani adds that she’s bothered by how immigrants and U.S. citizens have been treated by federal law enforcement in other cities.
“That is a concern of mine, because Chicago is like our cousin. So if it’s happening over there, it could definitely happen over here, and that’s why I truly support what they’re doing, too, and support the way that they’re fighting back for their community.”
Following the rally, protesters marched to the Customs and Border Protection field office in Downtown Detroit.
Kassandra Rodriguez is with the Detroit Community Action Committee. She says the Trump Administration immigration crackdown means Detroit should be a sanctuary city. Rodriguez says that’s something she’s addressed with City Council President Mary Sheffield.
“When we’ve gone to city council and presented our ordinance, she did say that she would fight for immigrants, and I’m hoping that she holds to that promise.”
Rodriguez says many Latinx people stayed home in fear of ICE.
“A lot of them are very scared, you know, they view these big movements, big protests, as a place where they might get targeted. So it’s so important, even more important, that so many of us come out here and are able to elevate their voices and and share their stories.”
Detroiter Michelle Coates was near the rally, but not there to protest. She said she understands why people are upset.
“People’s tired of unrest, people’s tired of inflation, people’s tired of working day in day out, just to make ends meet. You know the cost of living is going up and up.”
Coates also echoes concerns about authoritarianism in the U.S.
“We, as people of the country of United States of America, is not just going to stand here and let him do and dictate the way he want to and just make us just bow down and just accept whatever he want to give us.”
Detroit Police arrested one pro-Trump counter protester. It was unclear if they made other arrests at the peaceful event.
More Michigan protests
Thousands more rallied across metro Detroit, with protests in Ferndale, Wyandotte and Dearborn. WDET Production Assistant José Llanas attended a No Kings rally in Ann Arbor in Veteran’s Park.
Listen what the protestors had to say below.
Listen: WDET’s José Llanas interviews Adam
I think we’re moving in a direction that I just don’t really support. It would be really nice if we all got back to the normal course of business within government as well as everybody resorted back to just being decent people. Normal is what I would like to see.
Listen: WDET’s José Llanas interviews Eden
Nobody’s paying us to be here. We’re paying to be here. And, we need to end the fascism that’s happening right now. We need to save the immigrants in this country, and we need to save our citizens because we are next on the list… I just never thought that we would get here as a people.
Listen: WDET’s José Llanas interviews Aiden
I’ve got a lot of empathy for the people in the cities where the National Guard is actually being deployed, and so I think that the real emphasis needs to be placed on those places. And it’s fun to be here and it’s nice to have this community event, but also we need to remember why we’re here. And it’s not a really joyous thing.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.Donate today »
