No Kings protests were held in towns across the country Saturday, and local organizers estimate that more than 700, and perhaps as many as 900, people participated in the demonstration along Elkhorn Avenue between 10 a.m. and noon.
Estimating the crowd size is difficult, as many people came and left over the two-hour event. Protesters lined up two and three deep on the north side of Elkhorn Avenue from Virginia Drive past the Estes Valley Library.
Nationwide, more than 8 million people are estimated to have participated in the third No Kings protest. In Colorado, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who is running in the Democratic primary against Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser for the gubernatorial nomination, participated in No Kings protests in Littleton and Boulder on Saturday.
Local organizers said they attributed the large turnout to the mild spring weather and concerns over the U.S.-led war in the Middle East, which began on February 28, 2026, with strikes launched by the U.S. and Israel against targets across Iran, and the situation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis in January and February.
Protesters carried homemade signs, some humorous, some angry, some vulgar. There were American flags, peace signs, anti-Trump signs, and anti-war signs. One woman rang a cowbell, and another blew a whistle. One man carried a toilet bowl brush with a figurine of the president on the handle, and another pounded out a beat on a buffalo drum.
One woman set up a card table and collected signatures for a petition to adopt a graduated state income tax. One protestor, dressed as a Wonderland-style queen, held a sign reading “off with their heads.” And some people came dressed in costumes for the Frozen Dead Guy Days events later Saturday afternoon at the Estes Park Events Complex.
The loudest noise came from cars driving along Elkhorn Avenue and honking in support of the protesters.
The event ended without incident at noon, and participants dispersed shortly thereafter.
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