Participants hold up their protest signs during a No Kings rally Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at Zemurray Park in Hammond. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
Thousands of people gathered at 10 events across Louisiana as part of Saturday’s national No Kings movement to protest President Donald Trump. Beyond their criticisms of the administration, organizers and participants shared messages of unity and countered Republicans who labeled their events as “hate rallies.”
Helping set that lighter tone were several rally participants in costumes. Some were getting a jump start on Halloween while others said they took their inspiration from protestors in Portland, Oregon, who’ve demonstrated while in disguise against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in their city.
In New Orleans, where little excuse is needed for costuming, thousands showed up for a concert and rally along the Lafitte Parkway. The city hosted a parade through the Marigny neighborhood during the first No Kings day in June.
Among the participants was Elaine Ravich, 96, who held a sign identifying her as part of the Greatest Generation and an opponent of tyranny.
“We fought in the 1940s, and there are not too many of my generation alive,” Ravich said. “I am representing every single one of them that was here, and we were fighting again for our children, grandchildren and generations to come, and we will not allow this to happen.”
Elaine Ravich, 96, was among thousands of people who took part in a No Kings rally and concert in New Orleans. (Jason Kerzinski/Louisiana Illuminator)
Hundreds took part in the No Kings event at Zemurray Park in Hammond, which featured equal parts protest, parody and picnic.
Participant Katie Greer of Slidell was part of the crowd, wearing a cap to honor her Navy veteran husband, Paul, who died in August. He would have been alongside her at the protest had he not succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease, she said.
Greer noticed that a sizable portion of the crowd were, like her, senior citizens. She recounted her involvement in comparable protests against the Vietnam War in the 1970s.
“We did this once. We’re back to do it again,” Greer said.
On the other end of the age spectrum were the two school-aged children of Daisy and Michael Daigle, also from Slidell. The couple said it was important for them to take part in Saturday’s event as a family to show their son and daughter they don’t agree with the direction of the nation under Trump’s leadership.
Hundreds of people took part in a No Kings rally Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, at Zemurray Park in Hammond. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
Speakers at the Hammond event urged those in attendance to stay active and connected, even though they are greatly outnumbered by Republicans in the Northshore region. The parishes in the area are split between the congressional districts of U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Julia Letlow, R-Start.
Daisy Daigle said the rally provided some encouragement to those who might feel their voices aren’t heard.
“To be able to come here to see this and have a community and see it is really good, right? Because not everybody can make it to meetings,” she said. “We’re all struggling day to day just to get by. So to have this one day to be able to come out is really important.
More than 150 people assembled at the edge of Lock Park in downtown Lake Charles for its No Kings event, while a small group of counter-protestors stood across a quiet side street.
Matthew Desormeaux was among the rally participants, holding a sign that read: “Abolish ICE is now the moderate position.” He said he considers immigration an important issue on both a national and state level.
“This is home. I was born and raised here,” Desormeaux said. “Lake Charles is a conservative area, but we’ve got to let [undocumented] people know that they’re not alone.”
An attendee at the No Kings rally in New Orleans dressed as Batman. (Photo by Jason Kerzinski/Louisiana Illuminator)
Louisiana has nine ICE detention and staging facilities and is second only to Texas, with 23 ICE detention centers, with nearly 7,500 people in custody according to immigrant rights advocacy groups. Gov. Jeff Landry declared an emergency to expedite the refurbishment of a maximum security section of Louisiana State Penitentiary so it could also house ICE detainees.
“Immigrants are members of our community and should have the right to live and work where they want because they contribute,” Desormeaux added.
Sam McNabb stood with seven other men across the street from the No Kings assembly, flanked by two flags – one U.S. flag in black and another that read “MAGA Trump 45 47.”
“Trump’s not a king. If he were, they’d be in jail, all these cuckoos,” McNabb said, gesturing toward the No Kings rally across the street.
McNabb said the other men with him were on their lunch break, and that the No Kings rally participants must not have jobs.
One of the counter-protesters crossed the street to wave a flag in front of the crowd that read “Don’t tread on Trump.” A small rope barricade separated him from No Kings protestors. On his second pass down the block, local No Kings organizer Carolyn Woosley escorted the man..
“He just took my arm and said let’s go,” Woosley told the Illuminator.
Carolyn Woosley, administrator of Indivisible SWLA and organizer of the Lake Charles No Kings protest, escorts a counter protester past the crowd at Lock Park in downtown Lake Charles on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Photo by Christopher Vinn/Louisiana Illumninator)
Other No Kings events in Louisiana took place in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Monroe, Ruston, Alexandria and Lafayette.
In addition, Bradley Hesson, a 15-year-old Leesville High School student, organized what he described as a peaceful protest outside City Hall against Trump, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson “and more of our leaders who don’t want to take accountability,” he said.
Greg LaRose in Hammond, Natalie McLendon in Lake Charles and Jason Kerzinski in New Orleans contributed to this report.
