Thousands expected to turn out in Medford and Grants Pass as part of nationwide protests against Trump policies
Update, 1 p.m. Oct. 16:
While Joy Hosey, who first created and later took down the Ashland event on the No Kings website, says she did so due to the time and expense involved in getting a permit from the city of Ashland, no such permit is needed if no roads are blocked, city Deputy City Manager Jordan Rooklyn told Ashland.news on Thursday.
Update, 7 p.m. Oct. 15:
Just under 200 Ashlanders signed up for the Ashland rally before event organizer Joy Hosey sent an email Wednesday, Oct. 15, to registrants cancelling the event. She told Ashland.news in an email that the Ashland rally was cancelled due to a permit process that requires 60 days for approval and additional fees. Hosey created the event on the No Kings website before checking the requirements. “My bad,” she wrote, “with a side of humble pie.”
Original story:
By Sydney Seymour, Ashland.news
On Saturday, Oct. 18, millions across the nation — and the world — are set to protest against President Donald Trump for “No Kings 2.0.”
Organizers estimate the sequel will be even bigger than the last.
On Trump’s birthday, June 14, about 5 million people nationwide in more than 2,100 towns and cities protested in a coordinated peaceful rally, including as many as 7,000 people across the Rogue Valley gathered on McAndrews Road, according to organizers’ estimates. Co-leader and organizer of Oregon District 2 Indivisible, Eric Lindquist, expects 10,000 on Saturday.
Indivisible is a progressive nationwide organization that launched in 2016 after the first Trump administration and intends to hold elected officials accountable based on “inclusion, tolerance and fairness,” Lindquist said.
The regional group Oregon District 2 Indivisible (ORD2) has more than 3,000 members and partners with over 50 other Indivisible groups across Oregon.
In addition to ORD2 Indivisible, Women’s March Southern Oregon and Rogue Advocates for Tomorrow are also helping organize local Saturday efforts — and join about 2,000 partners contributing to the nationwide event.
Saturday rallies in the Rogue Valley will be held in Medford, Ashland and Grants Pass.
The Medford rally will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the same location as the June rally — on McAndrews Road from Crater Lake Avenue to Biddle Road.
No Kings rallies
Medford, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 18, McAndrews Road from Crater Lake Avenue to Biddle Road
Grants Pass, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 18, Josephine County Courthouse
The coordinated national rally is a peaceful movement, Lindquist emphasized. “We’re instructing everyone to stay off the street,” he said, mentioning safety and de-escalation volunteers to help keep people safe.
“The goal,” Lindquist said, “is to get more and more people to turn out to send a clear message to the Trump administration that America doesn’t have kings and will not tolerate fascist dictators.”
He continued, “People all over the country are very concerned and dismayed by what’s going on with the Trump administration trying to take away our freedom and keep us silent.”
He expects to see signs voicing various concerns about immigration and keeping families safe, education, food benefits like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and civil rights. Activists are also invited to bring musical instruments, sing songs and/or chant.
He specifically expects signs supporting healthcare subsidies. “We’re trying to get the Republicans to make a change,” he said, before the cost for health insurance becomes more expensive with enhanced Affordable Health Care subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.
“We want the Trump administration to stop ignoring the rule of law and their constitutional oath,” Lindquist continued. They are fighting for a democracy where “people are taken care of by the government, not taken advantage of.”
In a Friday, Oct. 10, interview on Fox News, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson characterized the planned protests as a “hate America rally,” which drew a rebuke from Lindquist.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Lindquist said. “Members of Indivisible love America and work hard to expose Trump’s efforts to erode our personal freedoms, including freedom of speech. Right now he is trying to create a situation where he can call any group that disagrees with him a member of Antifa and silence them. Indivisible will not stop working to expose his fascist agenda to all those who truly love America.”
Email Ashland.news Snowden reporting intern Sydney Seymour at sydneyseymourr@gmail.com.
Oct. 16: Removed Ashland event from the “No Kings rallies” information box.
Related stories:
Thousands protest against Trump at No Kings rally in Medford (June 15, 2025)
Picture This: Ashland joins in ‘No Kings’ protests (June 15, 2025)
