BY MATT KITE for WEEKLY VOLCANO 10/24/25
Last Saturday, on an overcast day that slowly gave way to rain, thousands gathered for two No Kings rallies in Tacoma. The first began at noon near the entrance to Point Defiance Park, where protesters lined both sides of the streets, crammed the sidewalks and parking strips, and spread southward several blocks. They brought their children, dogs, and handmade signs that ranged from provocative to playful, and more than a few were outfitted in inflatable costumes.
Joni Graves, dressed as an inflatable hippo in a pink tutu, waved an American flag. “I am here today because I’m really worried about where this country is headed,” she said, “hoping that we can get people’s attention, get them to pay attention to what’s going on, scared that we’re backsliding into autocracy, and I don’t want that. My decision to bring a flag today is because I think that the Republican Party has tried to co-opt it and make it theirs and not ours, and I want to make very clear that we do not hate America. I’m here because I’m exercising my constitutional right and I’m trying to fight for democracy and the country that I love.”
Although technically a protest, the rally appeared celebratory in nature, with rallygoers cheering and drivers honking their horns in solidarity. Rob Morgan, founder and lead singer of the legendary Northwest band the Squirrels, came dressed in an inflatable squirrel costume and carried a two-sided sign with nutty messages on both sides. “It’s important for us all to stand up and let people know that the media is not telling the truth,” he said. “And the best way to fight hate is with comedy and stupidity, because they don’t know what to do with that.”
The issues inspiring people to protest, meanwhile, ranged from ICE to the Epstein files. One protester, asking that he be identified only as Casey, carried a large American flag and spoke with passion. “I’m appalled at what’s happening in our country,” he said. “It’s unspeakable. It’s just horrible what they’re doing in our name. I can’t stand it. Masked agents hauling people away and not providing due process, habeas corpus. People are being disappeared.”
Grit City Collective, the organizers behind the rally, estimated the crowd at more than 4,000 during its peak. Volunteers directed traffic, handed out water and granola bars, and helped maintain the family-friendly atmosphere. Across town, about ten miles southeast, another rally began an hour later at Stewart Heights Park. Several information booths lined the perimeter of the large grass playfield, and an estimated crowd of 5,000 gathered around a makeshift stage to listen to more than a dozen speakers before a light rain thinned the turnout.
The speakers represented various local, regional, and national organizations, including the Rainbow Center, Pierce County Immigration Alliance, and About Face: Veterans Against the War. Julie Andrzejewski, co-chair of Indivisible Tacoma, addressed the crowd and emphasized the power of local elections to provide a layer of protection against the federal government. “People are going to be struggling since Trump has been removing money from our state,” she explained during an interview afterward. “We’re going to have even more problems with homelessness, people not being able to get medical care. All of these things are going to get worse, and so a lot of pressure is going to be put on our local people, so we need to have leaders who can step up to those big problems and figure out innovative and creative ways to deal with them and also bring community together.”
Andrzejewski encouraged voters to become better informed about local government in Tacoma and Pierce County, including city mayors, city councils, the port, the county sheriff, and the Pierce County Charter Review Commission. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” she said, “and many people don’t have time or the interest to investigate those things and the local connections, or they think they’re not important, or they’ll just wait and do the national elections, but really, a lot of the decisions that are made about our lives are made at the local level including the county, the city, the port, the charter.”
Not long after finishing her speech, Andrzejewski passed out flyers listing Indivisible Tacoma’s candidate recommendations for several local elections. Kelsey Hilmes, also with Indivisible Tacoma, was one of a handful of volunteers overseeing the rally. “It’s a small but mighty team,” she said of the grassroots effort. “We have a coalition of over twenty organizations here today, and it’s all about trying to come together and work toward what we have in common, which is that we are not satisfied with this administration, we aren’t satisfied with the authoritarian power grabs, and we’re just not going to stand for it. We’re going to protest. We’re going to build community and organize. We’re also getting out the vote. We are trying to help people get involved in community organizing with whatever organization and cause matters to them.”
