Second "No Kings Day" protests likely the largest single-day political demonstration since 1970, with 4.2-7.6 million... [View all]

[demmiblue]

Here are the initial results from our crowdsourced crowd-counting estimates

Strength In Numbers partnered with independent Atlanta-based science newsroom The Xylom on Oct. 18, 2025, to produce a crowdsourced estimate of turnout for the second “No Kings Day” protests held around the country. This follows our first attempt at crowdsourced crowd-counting for the first protests held in June.

Our median estimate is that 4.2 million people participated in a No Kings Day demonstration somewhere in the country on Saturday, with an upper bound of 7.6 million people. We provide an “estimate” and not a “count” because we are making predictions of turnout in protest sites where official records are still missing.

Our estimate is based on reports from local officials, local organizers, and attendees, and suggests the count from organizers — who report 7 million participants nationwide — may be a bit optimistic (but is not impossible). Still, regardless of whether the precise number is 5, 6, 7, or 8 million, Saturday’s events are very likely the biggest single-day protest event since 1970, surpassing even the 2017 Women’s March demonstrations against Trump.

The protests come as Donald Trump’s approval rating hit a new low last week, and as Democrats look likely to win upcoming races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia.

Our crowdsourced estimates are free to access here, and we hope they will be useful to researchers and journalists trying to enhance our collective understanding of political and protest activity in America. We think live, comprehensive, systematic tracking of First Amendment activity fills a large hole in traditional media coverage of political protests (which are dominated by guesses and anecdotal evidence). Where possible in our tracking, we preferred official reports over attendee estimates, and roughly validated those accounts with photographic and video evidence. We stress again that this is an “estimate” and not a “count.”

https://www.gelliottmorris.com/p/second-no-kings-day-protests-likely?utm_campaign=post

“Our median estimate is that 4.2 million people participated in a No Kings Day demonstration somewhere in the country on Saturday, with an upper bound of 7.6 million people.”
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/second-no-...

— Tim O’Brien (@timobrien.bsky.social) 2025-10-19T11:45:09.955Z