What is “No Kings”?

There has been a lot of talk concerning the recent “No Kings” protests[1]. The event organizers call upon a long list of “Partners” that include some big names in Democratic organizing, such as “Indivisible”[2], the ACLU, and the College Democrats of America[3], as well as more progressive forces such as various DSA groups. If one ignores the polished websites & well organized campaigns, it could almost appear as if this was indeed a grassroots movement, as one of the so-called partner’s claims[4]. Personally, I’m wary of any organization that asks people to RSVP a demonstration by adding their name to a list held by the group[5], especially when I remember my small contribution to the Bernie campaign and the endless fundraising emails I would receive in the years after from Democrats (including one for Nancy Pelosi). A deeper dive into their organizations reveals how little “grassroots” is actually going on, with the planners using “Mobilize^[6]” to organize their events, a Democrat support app owned by a company called Bonterra^[7](via another company called EveryAction), which is turn owned by a private equity firm called Apax Partners LLP^[8]. Founded by Sir Ronald Cohen[9], a man described as “one of the most powerful men in Britain who combines discretion with a reputation for ruthlessness”[10], Apax is one of the world’s largest multinational venture capital firm worth billions with strong ties to the genocidal Israeli regime (Cohen is Egyptian-“Israeli”). It’s obvious that nothing about the movement is grassroots or motivated for the good of the people.

Any movement can be judged by the number of people it can motivate to get out in the streets, but lacking any real demands (other than the need to vote for Dems, apparently), the No Kings “protests” were merely a rally for Dem politicians to voice yet more condemnations of Trump & his administration, all while avoiding their own complacency in the structures that Trump relies on for his oppression[11]. And while it is always a good thing for people to voice their objections openly, doing so should not be confused for real action. The well-meaning people that flooded the streets last Saturday are not going to liberate us, & their constant insistence on non-violence will cause most of them to turn on anyone committed to doing the only thing that has dislodged oppression in history, that being violence against the oppressors. In fact, the organizers themselves ask that anyone demonstrating “violent behavior” be flagged and referred to the police[12]. This disregard for effectiveness is the liberal brand, and in having such requirements, the organizers have put more demands on the participants than on any government body they allege to be protesting. When a group of us from the KCA attended, we witnessed people apologizing to the police for our presence, and our chalk messages of “F— the Police” were promptly erased as soon as we moved on. Given the commitment to ineffective means of protesting (seriously, they aren’t even creating an inconvenience for anyone). One could fairly ask whether there would be any reason for revolutionary activists to attend such a cosplay-as-revolutionary gathering.

The Usefulness of Mass Movements

Even if the bulk of the protestors attending No Kings will never be our allies, and when push comes to shove may more likely be our enemies, there are still a minority who joined for other reasons, such as the simple desire to do something, or because they are just now waking up to the realities we face in late stage capitalism. It is because these few may be there that we must be there as well (without registering like fools), if only to show those present that there is still another way. Those few are ready made recruits for the greater cause, as they are by their presence demonstrating a rare willingness to get out in the streets for a cause, even if they do not yet have a good idea of what that cause is.

The importance of action cannot be overstated, and if there is one criticism I have of the current Communist movement it’s that too many are too content to spend their time writing articles like this or going back and forth in obscure and private chat groups. We need people to get outside and “touch grass”. We need people willing to be seen being openly Communist. We also need to be willing to speak to people who may not like us. Communists have always relied on actions in the community to organize. As Mao once said: “We Communists are like seeds and the people are like the soil. Wherever we go, we must unite with the people, take root and blossom among them[13]”. If the people are throwing a useless parade, we should be there to speak to them, even if it’s just to demonstrate our commitment to the community or to differentiate ourselves from liberals.

For every twenty people we speak with, we may meet five who share at least some of our beliefs, and of those five, one might someday be a good Comrade to the cause. That one is worth the few hours of work and the embarrassment of being surrounded by liberals.

Contrasting Positions

The cause for worker liberation must be independent of any capitalist political efforts such as the Democratic Party, but because that independence has long been compromised by groups such as the CPUSA, the only way to create or maintain that independence is to distinguish ourselves whenever possible from the traditional liberal groups by doing things like attending the protests they plan and lead in the hope of at some point drawing away attention from their goals into our own. This is made easier by the fact that the No Kings events have no real goals, or no goals other than extolling folks to vote for their liberal candidates in few years. Instead of joining their movement, we attend with the intent to take it from them. We do this by providing answers to the questions people have, and agitating those who already see that things did not just now become bad.

At the event we attended, we set up a table with Communist and Anarchist literature under the flags of our cause. We did wear yellow as the No Kings organizers asked. We did not register or RSVP. We did what all in the cause should do, and as was made in to a motto for the anti-war movement, “Move on Over, or We’ll Move Over You”[14]. We pushed in to their spaces to take them, and in so doing met quite a few likeminded Comrades or soon-to-be Comrades, even if we also faced some dirty looks and more attention from the police.

We could not demonstrate our “otherness” from the liberals by staying at home. Nor would any online discussions replace speaking to people in person where they are unable to ignore you as easily or block you for angering them. Our presence also helped overcome a major issue that we have in our movement, in that most people do not know of our existence[15].

Where there is no direction, we provide it.

A boat in a storm needs a person at the helm. As mentioned previously, the mere fact that No Kings provides no answers to the public’s growing discontent with traditional politics and increasing injustices facing the people in the U.S. provides a ready-made avenue for our own messaging to be heard. Although many people will still be fooled by the old argument that all the problems we are facing can be laid at the feet of the GOP (or more specifically for now, Trump), there are many others who will remember the low poll numbers Biden had, or that these issues are not a mere ten months old. One of the most important topics to bring up, which so far some No Kings organizers have distinctly tried to ignore, is the continuing genocide in Gaza[16]. Our presence with the PFPL[17] and Palestinian flags forced the attendees to confront those issues, and served to remind them that both parties are equally culpable for their support for Israel.

All the more pressing is the fact that without direction or leadership, great movements die, as was seen in the 99%/ Occupy Movement in the late 2010’s and the concurrent uprising across Central America and the Middle East^[18]. Without direction and because of their horizontal structure, the movements were open to co-opting by right-wing or government groups. In the case of the No Kings movement, having started off as a liberal Democrat operation might limit the chances for co-opting by the Right, but their lack of direction or clear demands make it a fertile ground for Left-Wing recruitment.

Revolution as Serious Business™

Distinguishing ourselves is made easier when we are prepared, or said on another way, when we have answers. Showing up with a table full of literature and banners, under more general signs and flags, can show that we have the solutions^[19]. Or at least, that we know what we are doing. 

While Liberals spend their time making jokes about Steven Millers hair line or the size of Trumps penis or dancing in costumes, calling it “activism”[20], we set ourselves apart by focusing on the actual causes to our problems, and in so doing demonstrate both our knowledge of the cause and our dedication to it. Just as one would normally not want a doctor to make jokes while cutting out a cancer, or a lawyer to make jokes as you are sent to prison, so too do reasonable people become angered by such behavior. Jokes are not going to drive away I.C.E. during a raid on someone’s home, but they will make others question ones seriousness. This is therefore the perfect opportunity to display the professionalism of the Communist Vanguard, and force the nonsensical participants to confront their own ineffectiveness in their own territory, and failing that, at least hand out some pamphlets.

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[1] See: No Kings website. (accessed 10/20/25)

[2] An alleged “grassroots” movement staffed by Washington insiders & funded by PAC’s in the millions. See: https://indivisible.org/ (accessed 10/21/25)

[3] College Democrats of America (accessed 10/22/25)

[4] 50501 Movement — 50 protests, 50 states, (accessed 10/20/25)

[5] Mass Call: What’s Next After No Kings? · No Kings (accessed 10/20/25)

[6] Volunteer Opportunities, Events, and Petitions Near Me · Mobilize (accessed 10/22/25)

[7] Bonterra Acquires OneCause to Improve Nonprofit Fundraising | Bonterra (accessed 10/22/25)

[8] Apax Partners website (accessed 10/22/25)

[9] Ronald Mourad Cohen – Wikipedia (accessed 10/22/25)

[10] Profile: Sir Ronald Cohen: Midas with a mission – to make Gordon king, The Sunday Times, 23 January 2005. (accessed 10/22/25)

[11] Biden’s Emergency Funding Proposal Seeks $14 Billion for Immigration System from Congress – American Immigration Council (accessed 10/21/25).

[12] Despite the uselessness of trying to appeal to the Right’s demands, as it made little difference, they were accused of violence anyway.

[13] Zedong Mao. “Quotations from Chairman Mao Tsetung”,p.273, China Books (1972).

[14] Written by Lee Chandler in 1965. https://youtu.be/qYLiaL7jAIA (accessed 10/21/25).

[15] Although our local organization seems to be having less of an issue with this, in part because we take so many opportunities to be seen.

[16] The local Indivisible leadership has blocked anyone on social media who talks about it on their threads, & have repeatedly condemned any display of the Palestine flag (we brought ours anyway, because you can’t block someone in real life).

[17] Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

[18] Bevins, Vincent (5 September 2022). If We Burn. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-5417-8897-8.

[19] In the case of us locally, professionally made banners & other propaganda tools.

[20] Thereby demonstrating their lack of care for those harmed.