Thousands take to downtown Portland to protest Trump administration
Published 12:30 pm Saturday, June 14, 2025
The recent activities of the Donald Trump administration drew thousands of people to downtown Portland’s Waterfront Park on Saturday, June, 14, as part of the nationwide “No Kings” series of protests.
Unlike violent clashes that occurred downtown during the first Trump administration, the crowd late Saturday morning was peaceful, if persistent. Signs denounced Trump’s actions curtailing what protesters call Democratic norms, with a focus on his anti-immigrant statements, roundups of immigrants here both illegally and legally, and the decision to put the National Guard and U.S. Marines on the streets of Los Angeles.
“Democratic norms of our society are collapsing,” said Portlander Kell Fox. “Dissent is necessary to stop it. This is the only thing that might do it.”
Cynthia Maunes of Portland is the daughter of two Filipino immigrants. “My folks worked really hard to get here,” she said. “I’m doing this for them.”
Emily Polanshek of Portland stood on Southwest Nato Parkway with a “No Kings” sign as passing motorists honked in support. In 1973, at the age of 20, Polanshek was in Chile and watched the military overthrow Democratic Socialist President Salvador Allende and his Popular Unity coalition government. “People say it can’t happen here? It can happen here,” she said.
“And if the use of military for law enforcement becomes accepted, we’ll be in for a period of no more elections,” Polanshek added, referencing Trump’s use of U.S. Marines in Los Angeles.
“I’m here in reaction to the news,” said Tamara Markham of Portland.
“It’s heartbreaking what’s going on in this country. I taught school. We taught the Constitution,” she said, pausing. “I’m sorry. This brings tears to my eyes.”
She explained that her emotions come from her years teaching in Forest Grove, where many of her students were the children of immigrant farmworkers.
The Saturday protest appeared to draw fewer people than the “Hands Off” protest on April 5, which drew an estimated 10,000 people. Another difference: That protest had nearly as many signs protesting Elon Musk as Donald Trump. The Musk signs were mostly absent this weekend, as the billionaire has backed away from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency that he used to wipe out the staffs and budgets of many federal agencies.
Speaking over the lyrics of Bob Marley’s 1973 protest anthem, “Get Up Stand Up,” Carol Hoekstra of Milwaukie said no one action of the Trump administration led her to braving a surprisingly cold, windy June day in Portland. “Just everything that’s happening. The daily barrage of bad news,” she said.
Angie Kraute, also of Milwaukie, said seeing the size crowd felt energizing. “It feels oddly powerless lately. This is important; to get out and use your voice,” she said.
This was the first protest for Cleo Laney, but to be fair, she just turned 6 months old. Cleo was there with her mom, Megan Laney of Portland. “I had plans for this morning, but I was like: I gotta get down there!” Laney said.
She said protests can be a powerful tool. “Immigrants, women, they should hear this. It’s important to be here. To say ‘No.’”
Peak Portland
For all the anger and fear regarding the Trump administration, the Saturday protest also drew several funny and irreverent signs.
And it contained some classic “Portland-nice” elements. A cluster of protesters hopped off the No. 54 TriMet bus with their hand-painted signs, taking mass transit to a mass uprising. Other protesters stopped to get a coffee to go. Protesters even waited for walk signs before crossing streets.
State Rep. Zach Hudson, a Democrat who represents portions of Troutdale, Fairview, Wood Village, Gresham and Portland, recited a spoken-word poem poking jest at the administration.
One protester, Tim Hart of Portland, made fun of his usual lack of activism, holding a sign that read, “This is so bad, even I showed up.”
“It takes a lot to get me to one of these,” Hart said. “I care. But I care from home.”
One masked, black-clad protester tried to rile up some violence, in the form of the “antifa v. Proud Boys” battles that rocked pre-pandemic Portland. We wove through the crowd, trying to get violence stirred up.
Other protesters laughed him off.
Nationwide event
Portland’s demonstration was one of dozens around Oregon and hundreds across the nation, in every state, on Saturday. At least 16 rallies were slated in the greater metro area, from Forest Grove to Gresham, and from Vancouver to Canby.
Some of the nation’s largest events were anticipated in New York, Chicago, Denver and Atlanta, according to media reports.
The protests come atop President Trump’s immigration crackdown in Los Angeles and his decision to deploy the National Guard, against the wishes of the California governor and L.A. mayor. He also has deployed U.S. Marines.
The Posse Comitatus Act, passed in 1878, restricts the use of the Army and Air Force in domestic law enforcement actions, unless authorized by an act of Congress. The act doesn’t directly apply to the Navy and Marine Corps, although those branches of the military are subject to similar restrictions through statutes and Department of Defense instructions.
The “No Kings” events may have taken on more urgency due to the protests in isolated pockets of downtown L.A., but were scheduled before trouble began there.
The protests also offer a stark comparison to the military parade Trump slated for Saturday in Washington, D.C., in honor of the Army’s 250th anniversary, as well as his own 79th birthday. It’s the kind of military-on-parade event seen often in places like Moscow and Beijing, but almost never in the U.S. Capital.
The “No Kings” protests were organized by a wide array of groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Indivisible and 50501 (which stands for 50 states, 50 marches and one cause).
The Saturday events are being dubbed a “day of defiance” in light of what the groups describe as Trump’s authoritarian overreach.
