Hundreds gathered at Cora Roberson Park in Gainesville on Saturday for the second “No Kings” protest, part of a nationwide movement opposing former President Donald Trump’s policies and leadership style.
Demonstrators lined the streets, held signs, cheered and shared personal stories of how policy changes have affected their families and communities.
From papier-mâché puppets to chants, costumes and music, the event blended resistance with performance, underscoring what many called a fight to preserve democracy.
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Community members created a paper mache puppet of President Donald Trump. Francesca Violich, holding the right arm, and Jay Herman, holding the left arm, are volunteers who came to the "No Kings" protest at the Cora Roberson Park in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Kimberly Blum/WUFT News)
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People driving by the "No Kings" rally at the Cora Roberson Park in Gainesville, Fla., blow bubbles from the roof their car on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Kimberly Blum/WUFT News)
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A man dressed as President Trump is seen at the "No Kings" protest at the Cora Roberson Park in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Kimberly Blum/WUFT News)
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Glenn Terry is the chant guy at the front of the Trump puppet group at the Cora Roberson Park in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. "Our group built big Trump to bring tension to the people trying to end our democracy. This is the resistance," Terry said. (Kimberly Blum/WUFT News)
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People chant slogans from both sides of Southwest Sixth Street by the Cora Roberson Park at the "No Kings" protest on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 as cars honk as they drive by in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Kimberly Blum/WUFT News)
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Hundreds of people attended the second "No Kings" rally at the Cora Roberson Park in Gainesville, Fla., where they protested President Trump's policies on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Kimberly Blum/WUFT News)
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Cindy Hiter, right, brought her son Jeffery Hiter to the "No Kings" rally held at the Cora Roberson Park in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. "I am here just to feel the goodness of America to protest kings," Cindy Hiter said. "We donÕt want a king, but I am here for my great grandchildren. I want them to know an America I know. I'm really doing it for them and my son who will lose all of his benefits. He has seizures and losing the benefits that would mean something terrible." (Kimberly Blum/WUFT News)
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Patrick Bresnyan drums from the sidewalk at the Cora Roberson Park in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. "We are here to how the resistance is peaceful and powerful. There is no place for kings in United States. We are a country for the people, of the people and by the people," Bresnyan said. (Kimberly Blum/WUFT News)
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Mal Lea, a social services worker, chants from the sidelines along Southwest Sixth Avenue near the Cora Roberson Park in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. "I work in social services and the cuts are affecting everyone as well with the homeless population," Lea said. "That's why I'm here." (Kimberly Blum/WUFT News)