Editor’s note: More detail has been added to this story about estimated crowd sizes at Saturday’s rallies.
Crowds of people bearing homemade signs and chanting slogans showed up Saturday morning at multiple locations across Johnson County in opposition to the policies of President Trump.
The demonstrations locally were part of some 2,000 organized nationwide by various groups, all under the banner “No Kings.”
At the time a reporter was on the scene Saturday, there seemed to be roughly one thousand people in Johnson County across three different rallies denouncing President Trump’s actions since he took office.
A sizable crowd gathered in Lenexa at a rally that began at Sar-Ko-Park Trails Park. There were two other demonstrations in Overland Park, one at West 135th Street, across from a Staples store, and another at the intersection of 119th Street and Blue Valley Parkway.
Organizers did not release official crowd estimates but multiple participants later told the Post the gathering in Lenexa at its height drew between 1,000 and 3,000 people.
3 “No Kings” protests in Johnson County
The “No Kings” protests in the Kansas City area and around the country contrasted with celebrations in Washington, D.C., marking the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary. The day — June 14 — also coincided with Flag Day and Trump’s 79th birthday.
In the nation’s capital, Trump oversaw a military parade Saturday evening.
“It’s kind of an alignment of the stars, that it is the Army’s birthday and that Trump is usurping that birthday for his own birthday celebration,” said Susan Norris, an organizer of the Lenexa “No Kings” event.
“It’s also Flag Day, and that’s the positive side of this. The flag has meant so much to us for so long. We want to take it back. Recently, it’s been used for other purposes and we want people to know that it should represent the best of us,” she said.
Outside of Johnson County, thousands of people turned out across the Kansas City metro area for other “No Kings” actions, including at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri, Lee’s Summit, Missouri, and Lawrence, Kansas.
Demonstrators in Johnson County carried signs bearing various anti-Trump messages, as well as others criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and expressing support for Medicare and immigrants.
Carmen Hernandez of Overland Park attended the Lenexa rally, carrying a sign that read, “Hate has no home here.”
While now a Kansas resident, she was raised in the Los Angeles area, which has been an epicenter of protests over the past week in response to ICE raids there.
“Just seeing what they’re having to deal with every day, it just hurts my heart,” Hernandez said. “I have family that live in that area still, and ICE is in my old neighborhood, and they’re worried about getting taken. I felt it was really important for me to be here. I think it’s important to bring attention to.”
“Hopefully, Congress will note we’re mad”
A few drivers passing by Saturday in Lenexa raised their middle fingers at demonstrators, but the gathering was peaceful, and very few counter-demonstrators were seen at any of the Johnson County demonstrations.
In Lenexa, two young men walked around the event trying to talk with people about Trump’s immigration policies. They identified themselves as Larry Maroon and John Wilkson, and both said they were 18.
“We’re talking about the terminology of illegals and why we believe illegal immigrants should be deported from the country and why it’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Wilkson told a Post reporter. “Don’t shut out either side just because that’s what’s being fed to you.”
Devin Brotzer of Overland Park also attended the Lenexa event to protest the actions taken by Trump and ICE, which has detained more than 51,000 migrants as of June 1, according to the agency’s count.
White House officials claim ICE is targeting migrants with criminal histories, though The Guardian reported that between January and June of 2025, there has been a more than 800% increase in the number of arrests of immigrants with no criminal record.
“Democracy dies in silence,” Brotzer said Saturday. “If you just sit back and let people get abducted by ICE, then we’re giving into a fascist regime.”
“I think seeing so many people out here, wanting him (Trump) out-of-office, will just really piss him off,” Brotzer added. “Hopefully, Congress will note we’re mad.”
“It feels like a festival”
While the demonstrations in Johnson County turned out peacefully, the Kansas Highway Patrol said before Saturday that it was putting troopers on standby.
“It all went smooth,” said Master Police Officer Danny Chavez of the Lenexa Police Department. “We weren’t made aware of any issues or problems at all.”
The events in Overland Park also went off without incident.
Jacy Gatewood of Olathe brought her two sons — Dylan, 11, and Emrys, 8 — to protest at Sar-Ko-Par Trails Park, though she was briefly worried about their safety.
“I was nervous to come because part of me thought, ‘Is it going to be dangerous? Will it be safe for the kids?” she said. “But then, I thought we should go anyway because fear shouldn’t keep us home. It feels like a festival. They’re (her sons) having a good time. They’re singing, people are giving them stickers, complimenting their signs. I feel safe.”
Gatewood, originally from Wales, spent significant time in the U.S. starting in 2012 before becoming a citizen in 2018.
“I think this is really important, you know, exercising our rights,” Gatewood said. “I’m not happy with how things are going.”
