'No Kings' rallies protesting Trump planned for October 18 across Long Island and the United States
People march on Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays during a "No Kings" protest held on June 14. Credit: John Roca
More than a dozen "No Kings" rallies are scheduled for Saturday at locations in Nassau and Suffolk, part of a national protest day that organizers hope will bring out big crowds at sites across the country to voice opposition to the Trump administration.
Halle Brenner-Perles, 55, of East Northport, a co-founder of Show Up Long Island, is organizing a rally at the Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola with Engage Long Island and Long Island Network for Change.
A registered Democrat, Brenner-Perles said more than 1,500 protesters had registered for the event this Saturday. Motivating factors for organizing the event, she said, include fear of National Guard deployments, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids, the loss of healthcare coverage, Trump administration cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and what she described as a trend toward authoritarian rule.
"What's happening in this county is immoral — and it's un-American," she said.
Several prominent Long Island Republican leaders, among them the office of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Suffolk Republican Party Chair Jesse Garcia, did not respond to inquiries Friday seeking comment.
The Associated Press reported the scheduled protests have already drawn condemnation from some top U.S. politicians, among them House Speaker Mike Johnson, who, at a Wednesday news conference, dubbed the event the "Hate America Rally."
Brenner-Perles said the rallies are "actually the exact opposite. We are people who love America, who love our Constitution, who love our democracy — and we are here to stand up for our country."
In a statement Friday, Suffolk police said residents can expect "an increased police presence at each rally" within its patrol areas. Nassau police and other local agencies could not confirm plans to be more visible at rallies.
According to the national website for the "No Kings" protests, local rallies will be held at the following locations:
- Mineola: 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Nassau County Courthouse
- Port Washington: noon-1 p.m. at an undisclosed location
- Port Jefferson Station: 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the train car park
- Lindenhurst: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at 200 Sunrise Hwy,
- South Huntington: noon-2 p.m. at Jericho Turnpike and Walt Whitman Road
- Mastic-Shirley: noon-1:30 p.m. at an undisclosed location
- Medford: 10 a.m.-noon at the Park and Ride near Exit 63
- Miller Place: noon-1:30 p.m. at 323 NY-25A
- Patchogue: noon-1 p.m. at an undisclosed location
- Riverhead: 9 a.m.-11 a.m. at the Riverhead County Center and another from 12:30 p.m.- 2:30 p.m. at an undisclosed location
- Wading River: noon-3 p.m. at North Shore United Methodist Church
- East Hampton: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at town hall
- Hampton Bays: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Macy’s Hampton Bays parking lot
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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