On March 28, an estimated eight million people took to the streets across the country in one of the largest days of protest in American history, and Olympia was no exception.
In a city of roughly 55,000 people, the third installment of the No Kings rally series, organized by Olympia Indivisible and Evergreen Resistance, drew a crowd of roughly 7,200 in protest against the Trump administration and the escalating presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in communities across the country.
The protest began at Percival Landing, where protesters marched through downtown Olympia, chanting about democracy and against subjects such as ICE and the Epstein files, before arriving at the Capitol grounds. There, tents featuring over 35 local advocacy groups were set up along the pathways, offering numerous ways to stay civically active, such as writing postcards to politicians and learning about notable political initiatives.
As is standard, protesters carried an abundance of signs expressing their disdain for the current administration, often with humorous and clever remarks. One such sign featured a picture of JD Vance with the words, “Hide Your Couch. Hide Your Rights.”
For the main event, a selection of speakers addressed the crowd, closing with combat veteran and firefighter Michael Washington, who shared his motivation for defending the Constitution: the loss of his son, who died serving in Afghanistan. “I owe him my all in supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” Washington told the crowd.
Unlike the previous rallies, which broadly opposed the Trump administration, this iteration made ICE activity an explicit focus, with many people in Olympia and across the country desperate to have their voices heard. “This is your friends, your neighbors, possibly your loved ones. People are very angry, to put it mildly. And that has shown up in the protest, in the speakers, in everything,” said Raven Finnegan, media liaison for Evergreen Resistance and Olympia Indivisible.
Over the past year, ICE raids have swept through communities nationwide, and for many at Saturday’s rally, this reality is impossible to ignore. “With Olympia being a sanctuary city, the idea of federal agents coming in and just violating people’s rights left and right, I think that’s been a big contributor to why so many people showed up,” said senior Jasper Hawkins.
Yet with all his frustration on this issue, Hawkins also had thoughts on who wasn’t there. Although the rally drew thousands, young faces were noticeably scarce, a pattern seen in No Kings events nationwide. “It’s not like an organic event that young people are creating,” said Hawkins. “It’s kind of an institution made by older people, so maybe that’s why people aren’t coming out for it.”
Still, given current events, young people’s involvement may not be optional. “It’s your generation that’s going to have to clean up this mess,” Finnegan said. “It’s our generation that didn’t do enough… Find a cause you strongly believe in, and when your time comes to vote, do so, because your life depends on it.”
Monica Whitman, a speaker at the rally representing the No Hate Washington State campaign, supported this sentiment. “Although most high school students aren’t able to vote, these initiatives are going to impact students the most,” Whitman said. “People often don’t ask the people most impacted what their opinion is, so you have a very strong voice.”
While the rally was a historical showing from the American people, it was clear to many that this was just the beginning of a much longer conversation, one that the younger generations will ultimately inherit. “This is a moment in history where people need to be comfortable having uncomfortable conversations,” Whitman said. “That’s how we’re going to find more common ground and not have everything be so polarized.”
