VIRGINIA BEACH — A crowd of about a few thousand that packed into the city’s Town Center Saturday to protest President Donald Trump and his administration at a “No Kings” rally were asked by police to disperse earlier than scheduled because of the size of the crowd, according to an organizer.
Virginia Beach Police asked protesters to leave about an hour and half early because of the crowd’s size and an event scheduled for later that evening, according to Carrie Short, one of the event’s organizers. Because police had been so helpful, Short asked the crowd to respect their wishes and move away from the fountain area where the rally was centered.
Many of the protesters groaned in response, then proceeded peacefully to Virginia Beach Boulevard, where they stretched out across several blocks, holding up signs and cheering as motorists honked in support.
Short, co-founder of COVA Coalition, a women’s group focused on community-based organizing in Coastal Virginia, said organizers was pleased with the turnout and response.
“We had over 3,000 sign up,” she said. “We know that a lot of people who come to these things never sign up so we knew it was going to be a big crowd.”
People of all ages were in attendance at Town Center, with a particularly strong showing of older citizens. Many in the crowd wore inflatable animal costumes, such as frogs, dinosaurs, chickens and unicorns. The costumes were in part a nod to a protester in Portland, Oregon who had a chemical spayed into their inflatable frog suit by a federal agent. They also were intended to indicate that the group was non-violent, despite what some Republican leaders have said about them.
The Virginia Beach rally was joined by thousands across the country in a movement its organizers said was protesting the increasingly authoritarian direction Trump’s administration was taking. Regionally, there also were protests in Chesapeake, Newport News, Williamsburg, the Eastern Shore, the Outer Banks and in Mathews County, according to the movement’s organizers.
Gov. Virginia Gov. Glen Youngkin on Friday authorized members of the National Guard to be placed in “state active duty” status ahead of the many rallies planned in the commonwealth. In an announcement posted to social media, Youngkin said there would be “zero tolerance” for destruction of property, looting, vandalism, disruption of traffic or violence of any kind but affirmed Virginians’ first amendment rights.
This round of protests are a second and expanded effort coordinated by the “No Kings” movement following the thousands of marches and rallies in June. Those protests were in large part a response to a military parade in Washington that marked the Army’s 250th anniversary and coincided with Trump’s birthday.
In Virginia, there were no incidents reported from the last round of protests. Tear gas was used in some cities on the West Coast previously, and in Utah, a safety volunteer shot at a person allegedly pointing a rifle at demonstrators, but inadvertently struck and killed another protester.
Police did not immediately respond to multiple telephone inquiries regarding the protest’s dispersing.
This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.
https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/10/18/police-disperse-no-kings/
