Close to 2,000 gather for No Kings rally

For two hours Saturday afternoon as many as 2,000 demonstrators converged in downtown Mount Kisco for the third No Kings Rally to protest the actions and policies of the Trump administration. MARTIN WILBUR PHOTOS

 By MARTIN WILBUR

An estimated turnout of almost 2,000 people lined Main Street in Mount Kisco and flooded Fountain Park outside Village Hall on Saturday for the third No Kings protests since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

One of about 3,300 rallies nationwide on March 28, the Mount Kisco demonstrators joined with Americans from coast to coast protesting a wide array of issues that were important to each person, whether that is the war in Iran, the aggressive tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, tariffs, the economy or a general sense that the nation is heading in the wrong direction.

“To me, this is no longer about party,” said Maria Schafer of Somers, who sat in front of Mount Kisco Village Hall with an American flag draped over her lap and with a homemade “No Kings” sign. “I’ve been a Republican; I’ve been a Democrat. This is about right and wrong. What’s going on is crazy. We shouldn’t have a government that’s creating hostility. We should have representatives in Congress who are actually doing their jobs and looking out for the people, and that’s not happening. We have to stand up. It’s gone way too far.”

Organizers intentionally refrained from scheduling speakers, letting attendees’ signs and the sheer numbers who showed up convey the message of extreme disenchantment with the administration. Music blared over speakers and some wore garments creatively decorated registering their opposition to the White House’s actions and policies.

For Warren Berger of Mount Kisco, the main motivator in him braving the cold and windy conditions for nearly two hours was election integrity. Trump’s demands of Congress to pass the Save America Act to impose more stringent voter identification rules ahead of this November’s mid-term elections is a threat that the nation must take seriously, he said.

“I feel if there’s no monkey business or anything, I think we’re going to have a change, at least in the House, and that’s going to begin to shift the momentum,” Berger said. “But if that doesn’t happen, and if there’s any questions around the elections, I think we’re going to have big, big, big problems, and so I think everything is going to depend on that election.”

Madeline Swystun of Bedford, who was standing near Village Hall with “No Kings, No ICE, No War” sign, said she felt compelled to attend to register her opposition to the administration because she was at loss to do anything else. Swystun has also been a regular visitor to the weekly protests in Mount Kisco for the past 14 months.

“I come here every Saturday. It’s so important,” she said. “I can’t sleep at night, it’s so frightening. We’ve never seen this. It’s just terrible. We’re no longer going to be a democracy. It’s going away, slowly but surely.”

Swystun was joined by her granddaughter, Madeline, who traveled from her home in Waltham, Mass., to join her grandmother and mother for the protest. She was holding a sign with photos of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, the two Minneapolis residents fatally shot by ICE in January, and Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old with a wool bunny hat who was detained by authorities.

The crowd for last weekend’s Mount Kisco protest was at least as large as the last No Kings protest in October, said Fred Silverman, who has organized the protests in the village since February 2025. In October, it was estimated that 1,800 people attended, and Silverman said during the early stages of the event he anticipated as many as 2,000.

He said the turnouts continue to grow locally and across the U.S. because an increasing number of people are outraged at the actions of the administration. As the pain threshold becomes greater for people, whether it’s the war, high prices, treatment of immigrants or many other factors, people need an outlet.

“I think people are getting very upset and they want to express that,” Silverman said. “That’s all we’ve been trying to do in Mount Kisco for 14 months, it’s to give them a place where it’s relatively safe to go and express themselves. That’s exactly what No Kings is about.”

While many of the weekly protests have been attended predominantly by older people, last Saturday there were some more younger people on hand. One of them was 18-year-old Liam Scholl of Chappaqua, a high school senior. He acknowledged that his mother is active in the demonstrations, but that gave him a perspective to take a look at the bigger picture. However, many of his peers have difficulty envisioning how they can make a difference individually.

“I would say a lot of people are caught up and they don’t see how big of an issue it really is,” Scholl said. “Some people are just caught up in their own stuff first. Kids just think everything is all about them all the time.”

The largest No Kings protest in the county was in Tarrytown near the foot of the Westchester side of the Mario Cuomo Bridge. Another one was also held in Greenburgh.

Many of those who came lined East Main Street or flooded Fountain Park near Village Hall and the library and brought homemade signs focusing on any one of various issues that was most important to each individual. The gathering was one of several rallies in Westchester, and about 3,300 nationwide.