2nd Round Of “No Kings” Protests In Tennessee Draw Mixed Crowd Numbers

Image: No Kings Protest in Downtown Chattanooga Image Credit: Gary Hamilton / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –

While local media predicted attendance in the thousands for many of the 33 “No Kings” protests scheduled across Tennessee last weekend, actual numbers for several planned events appear to have been lower, with some drawing far fewer attendees than the first round of protests in June of this year. 

Much attention was focused on Memphis during Saturday’s protests as the Memphis Safe Task Force has drawn much media scrutiny and national awareness. “No Kings” attendees rallied in opposition to the Trump administration, especially the deployment of the National Guard as part of the Task Force.

Organizers were reportedly anticipating at least 5,000 people, but the Daily Memphian put numbers somewhere between 1,500-2,000.

“The ‘No Kings’ protesters in Memphis were overwhelmingly white, elderly, female, and confused about their pronouns. Organizers were hoping for about 5,000- but the crowd was in the hundreds,” said radio host Todd Starnes. A few counter protesters were present, holding signs with slogans like “Democrats Destroyed Memphis”, and no altercations between sides were reported.

Multiple Memphis and Shelby County Democrat politicians made appearances at the event including Rep. Justin Pearson, District Attorney Steve Mulroy, and City Councilwoman Jerri Green, who is also a gubernatorial candidate. All reiterated they were there to protest President Trump’s “abuse of executive powers.”

In Nashville, reports appear somewhat contradictory as initially, media outlets were speculating that “thousands [are] set to rally at the Tennessee Capitol”, but reports afterwords stated that only “hundreds” were present. 

A video stream of the event seems to show numbers closer to a couple thousand, not the 8,000 quoted by The Tennessee Lookout or 10,000 by Indivisible Tennessee.

Chattanooga organizers estimated around 2,500 people came and many attendees wore yellow, which was the nationwide recommended color, while others came in inflatable costumes, like frogs, donkeys, and other animals in solidarity with a now-viral clip of a rioter in Portland who wore an inflatable frog costume and was pepper-sprayed by a federal agent.

In looking at photos of the day, it appears Clarksville saw a few hundred attendees, though local outlet Clarksville Now reported the numbers between 600-1,000. Joy Rice, the lead organizer for Indivisible Clarksville, said attendees joined the protest for many reasons including standing against immigration enforcement, the government shutdown, and other nonspecific “policy decisions”, themes consistent with other events across the state and nation.

Only two arrests were reported relating to the protests thus far. The first was 71-year-old Anna M. Grabowski in Monroe County, who ran for the Tennessee House as a Democrat in 2016 and 2024. According to a Monroe County Sheriff’s deputy, Grabowski was charged with obstructing a highway/passage and failure to obey a law enforcement officer. Her bond was set at $5,000, but friends and supporters raised the money, and Grabowski was released from jail at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday evening.

The Gallatin Police Department made the second arrest, a man taken into custody for public intoxication and disorderly conduct.

At a national level, the number of total protesters has been widely disputed. Many citizen journalists attested attendance was weak and many events did not last the entire scheduled time, yet national news outlets claimed millions gathered on Saturday.

But the credibility of this mainstream reporting has been called into question all over the country as it was discovered MSNBC was using footage from a 2017 protest showing a massive crowd and presenting it as “live footage” from the Boston “No Kings” protest. 

Local Massachusetts outlets supposedly reported turnout was much lower than expected. NBC Boston also reported the crowd contained “a lot of gray hair” and “not a lot of young people”.

According to Indivisible Tennessee, total attendee numbers were over 43,000 statewide, but they do not state from what sources besides organizer estimations they are using to make those calculations.

Overall, from eyewitness accounts and photographs or videos, it appears that while the themes and average age of attendees remained the same as the June protests in Tennessee, attendance seems to have been roughly the same or decreased from the first round of “No Kings” protests.

About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.