At least 5,000 people gathered downtown Saturday afternoon as part of a nationwide protest against Trump administration actions, including immigration enforcement, and military strikes on Iran and Venezuela.
Austin's "No Kings" protest included a lineup of several performers and speakers, including drag queen Brigitte Bandit and lawyer and community advocate Yasmine Smith.
"Your fight is my fight," Smith said. "And fight means work. You cannot wait for someone to find you and give you an assignment. You cannot wait to be invited to a table. You are called to fight."
Saturday's event is a continuation of protests over the last few months after two U.S. citizens were killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Minneapolis. Public demonstrations have included student walkouts and rallies.
Fight and work for justice and peace, starting locally, was the message that organizers sent to those in attendance Saturday afternoon.
Alicia Perez-Hodge, who helps lead the League of United Latin American Citizens, said democracy faces threats in Texas.
"Democracy is more than just a form of government; it is a profound promise," Perez-Hodge said. "A promise that power and government belong to the people."
Indivisible Rosedale Huddle, a progressive political group, took that message to heart. For the last year, the group has circulated a larger-than-life copy of the U.S. Constitution and encouraged people to sign it. By Saturday afternoon, the entire poster had been filled with thousands of signatures.
Among those signatures was Hope Schneider's.
"I am really upset with everything that has been going on," she said. "It just hurts my heart so much. There are people dying from ICE and we have to do something, even if it's something small to have hope."
This was Schneider's third "No Kings" protest, and said she came back because things are getting worse, citing the military attacks on Iran and Venezuela and the ongoing secrecy with the Epstein files.
"I honestly think things have gotten scarier," she said. "They keep getting away with more and more and not taking any responsibility for any of what they've done. ... We are angrier but we show up with peace and kindness and hope in our hearts."
Spreading hope and kindness is the goal of the Austin Raging Grannies, a group of older women who spread their message through song.
Judy Gradford, who leads the group, said she and her granny friends are outraged by the current situation.
"Seeing people disappear off the streets – children and all kinds of humans – and seeing our people murdered on the streets and seeing all the attacks on knowledge and history and science and communities of color and trans and LGBTQIA+ people, there is so much on so many fronts and we sing about all of it," Gradford said.
On Saturday afternoon they sang about climate change, DEI, and other political topics.
"We believe that song has the ability to bring people together and power to educate people about the current situation, and does so in a way that transcends talking heads and it creates unity and community," Gradford said.
Throughout the afternoon people held up signs, chanted and danced as performers and speakers guided the crowd.
Gonzalo Lopez was waving an anti-Trump flag at Saturday's rally. It was the first time he has been able to attend a protest and he wanted to show his kids the power that people have.
"We the people have the power and we have to make the change," Perez said. "When we are together it sends a big message to the politicians."
Austin's "No Kings" protest was one of more than 3,000 events across the nation, according to organizers.
Similar "No Kings" protests in June and October last year brought thousands of people together, including elected leaders, in peaceful mobilization.
In previous protests, the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas National Guard members have deployed to Austin to respond to any violence, but neither could be seen Saturday.
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