Flash Report: No Kings Day Activity Threatens to Prolong Ongoing Protests

Key Findings

• Millions of people are likely to participate in “No Kings Day” protests taking place in cities across the country. The date of June 14, 2025, was likely chosen due to it coinciding with U.S. President Donald Trump’s birthday, Flag Day, the founding of the U.S. Army, and a planned Washington, D.C., military parade. 
• Recent protests in Los Angeles (LA) related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and U.S. immigration policy are very likely to influence No Kings Day protests, with some participants likely to be inspired or incited to commit acts of violence.
• There is a very likely chance that violent No Kings Day protesters will be met with the same law enforcement response as anti-ICE protesters, which could involve the activation of additional U.S. federal resources, such as the National Guard.
• No Kings Day protests in Phoenix, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Philadelphia likely carry the highest risk of unrest or violence, due to those locations being heavily promoted by event organizers.

Details

On Saturday, June 14, 2025, rallies and marches are expected to take place in numerous locations across the United States as a part of “No Kings Day.” Organizers have emphasized that their disagreements with policies of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump are the impetus for the protests.

• Several No Kings protests have taken place so far in 2025, including on February 17 (Presidents Day) and April 5 during “Hands Off!” protests. These events were in response to a diverse array of perceived political, economic, and social grievances.
• No Kings is organized by a group known as “50501” (referring to “50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement”) founded in early 2025. According to the 50501 Handbook, the group calls on the U.S. government to “Uphold the Constitution” and “End Executive overreach.” 
• On its website, No Kings categorizes itself as a non-violent movement that will seek to de-escalate any confrontations. Online training sessions delivered to prospective protesters in recent days appear to address topics such as crowd management, incident response, and what they consider are key safety protocols.

No Kings Day coincides with several other occasions: the Flag Day holiday, President Trump’s 79th birthday, and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. To mark its anniversary, the U.S. military is set to hold a large military parade in Washington, D.C., during which a reported 6,000 soldiers will make their way from the Pentagon to the Washington Mall, alongside up to seven million pounds of equipment such as Abrams tanks and other military vehicles. 

• No Kings Day organizers claim to have deliberately refrained from holding a rally in Washington to avoid bringing additional attention to the U.S. military parade. However, protest activity is planned to take place in areas just outside the D.C. limits, including Fairfax, Virginia, and Bethesda, Maryland.
• The flagship No Kings Day march and rally will be held in Philadelphia, though there are planned actions in or near most major U.S. cities.

Some major cities will very likely see protest participation in the thousands to tens of thousands, while many of the smaller cities and towns will likely see only limited participation. Organizers have placed particular emphasis on the rallies in Phoenix, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Philadelphia, making those actions likely to attract some of the strongest participation. Apart from Philadelphia, which is operating as an alternative to the Washington, D.C., location, it is unclear why the other major cities have been highlighted. 

• Organizers claim there will be 1,500 protest locations across all 50 states with nationwide attendance in the millions.
• There is a likely chance that the map featured and publicized by No Kings is representative of all events that have been self-registered via the website. As such, attendance and traction will almost certainly vary dramatically, and some will likely not take place at all.  
• Well-attended demonstrations will likely cause traffic and business disruption and heighten localized security measures.

Although most marches will likely pass peacefully, clashes between protesters and law enforcement cannot be ruled out. ZeroFox observed limited references to potential counter protests within social media posts, which appear to be posted by individuals and not associated with any organized group. While counter protests may gain traction in some areas, they are unlikely to be significant.

• ZeroFox has observed social media platforms being utilized both to promote and challenge the premise and funding of the No Kings protests. 
• For example, a list of approximately 100 private organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is being circulated alongside claims that these NGOs are “responsible” for the protests and thus there is “nothing organic” about No Kings. The list appears to be taken from the “partners” section of the No Kings website, though the nature of the affiliations is not specified.

Immigration-Related Protests

There is a very likely chance that No Kings protesters seeking to provoke unrest will perceive any ongoing ICE-related riots as a convenient opportunity to do so under the cover of “strength in numbers”, anonymity, and general disorder. Any No Kings protests that degenerate into disorder are most likely to do so during the evening and into the night, with the day times more likely to be peaceful.

• As well as simple convenience, there is very likely some perceived political and social alignment between No Kings protesters and those protesting against ICE. These are most likely to be associated with the topics of deportations and the alleged heavy-handed response to protests.

Some areas within LA that are currently experiencing the most violent ICE protests, including clashes with authorities, are also the site of planned No Kings activity. These include Glendale, Hollywood, the City Hall area, and Historic Filipinotown. Adjacent activity that coincides with these areas is more likely to result in disorder, though there is a roughly even chance that some No Kings protesters seeking to protest peacefully will be deterred from attending.

Ahead of No Kings Day, anti-ICE protests inspired by the events taking place in LA have spread to other large U.S. cities, such as Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Raleigh, Denver, San Antonio, and New York.

• Prior to the events in LA, there have been other unaffiliated large-scale protests related to immigration and deportations in major cities, including Atlanta, Miami, New York, and Seattle.

If No Kings Day events do devolve into acts of violence, which could include rioting or disruptive roadblocks, there is a very likely chance that those responsible would be met with the same law enforcement response to anti-ICE protesters used in LA—including the activation of additional federal agency resources, such as the National Guard.

As observed in recent days, local security forces across the country will likely be eager to avoid an escalation to violent protests like those seen in LA and may choose to declare No Kings protests unlawful early on and deploy more forces to quickly disperse them. There is a roughly even chance, however, that this will likely increase some protest activity in the short term.

Scope Note

ZeroFox Intelligence is derived from a variety of sources, including—but not limited to—curated open-source accesses, vetted social media, proprietary data sources, and direct access to threat actors and groups through covert communication channels. Information relied upon to complete any report cannot always be independently verified. As such, ZeroFox applies rigorous analytic standards and tradecraft in accordance with best practices and includes caveat language and source citations to clearly identify the veracity of our Intelligence reporting and substantiate our assessments and recommendations. All sources used in this particular Intelligence product were identified prior to 09:00 AM (EST) on June 12, 2025; per cyber hygiene best practices, caution is advised when clicking on any third-party links.

Appendix: ZeroFox Intelligence Probability Scale 

All ZeroFox intelligence products leverage probabilistic assessment language in analytic judgments. Qualitative statements used in these judgments refer to associated probability ranges, which state the likelihood of occurrence of an event or development. Ranges are used to avoid a false impression of accuracy. This scale is a standard that aligns with how readers should interpret such terms.