“No Kings” rally in Grand Marais part of nationwide movement
Over one hundred individuals gathered at the Cook County Courthouse on Saturday, March 28, for the “No Kings” rally, one of many organized events held across Minnesota, the United States, and the world.
In Grand Marais, rally-goers assembled at the courthouse at noon. Organizers with the local Arrowhead Indivisible organization started the event by singing songs as attendees gathered with signs and flags.
People gathering at the Cook County Courthouse during a “No Kings” protest on Saturday, March 28 | Photo by Kalli Hawkins
After gathering in the courthouse parking lot, rally attendees marched through Grand Marais and gathered at Harbor Park. Throughout the event, the crowd increased growing to nearly 200, according to reports from rally attendees who WTIP spoke with. The local Arrowhead Indivisible organization reported that there were 450 rally attendees.
More than 3,100 events are being organized in communities large and small across all 50 U.S. states, with more than 9 million people expected to participate.
The events are led by Indivisible, an organization that aims to stop the rise of authoritarianism in the U.S. and “build a real democracy that works for all of us,” according to its website. Members of the organization and attendees at the “No Kings” rallies cite concerns about recent immigration enforcement actions by President Donald Trump’s administration, particularly in Minnesota, as well as the war in Iran and other policy decisions.
Along Minnesota’s North Shore, a “No Kings” rally will also occur in Duluth and Silver Bay on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., in Two Harbors at 4 p.m. Several others across Minnesota’s Iron Range are also scheduled for Saturday.
St. Paul, Minn., will be the flagship of the “No Kings” protest movement Saturday when Bruce Springsteen performs “Streets of Minneapolis” in a state where emotions are still raw over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and the deaths of two residents shot by federal officers, the Associated Press reports.
Besides Springsteen, the St. Paul rally will also feature singer Joan Baez and actor Jane Fonda, who’ve been noted for their activism since the Vietnam War era, and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a hero of the progressive movement, along with a long list of other national and local activists, labor leaders, and elected officials.
People gather at Saint Paul College during a “No Kings” protest Saturday, March 28, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Joe Scheller)
Ezra Levin, a cofounder of Indivisible, the activist group spearheading the events, told the Associated Press that the movement is spreading worldwide. Rallies are also planned in more than a dozen other countries, he said in an interview, including Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Mexico, and Australia. In countries with constitutional monarchies, he said, the protests are called “No Tyrants.”
While Saturday’s gathering in Grand Marais is part of a broader movement unfolding across the state and nation, the local Arrowhead Indivisible group has been meeting each Saturday along Highway 61 in front of Java Moose to advocate for the organization’s mission, raise awareness about what members describe as threats to democracy, and encourage civic engagement within the community.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This article was updated to reflect the number of attendees observed and reported following the event.
Kalli Hawkins March 28, 2026
