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3,000+ No Kings Protests to 'Reject Corruption, Senseless War, and Division' on March 28
"With every ICE raid, every escalation abroad, and every abuse of power at home, Americans are rising up in opposition to Trump’s attempt to rule through fear and force."
Mar 18, 2026
As President Donald Trump on Wednesday continued to wage war on Iran, threaten Cuba, and push his mass deportation agenda across the United States, people nationwide were preparing for the next round of No Kings protests on Saturday, March 28.
"Just months ago, millions of people took to the streets across thousands of events to say no to Trump's abuses of power, and today that movement is only growing," noted Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, one of the organizing groups, in a statement.
There were more than 2,100 demonstrations during the coalition's first day of action last June. Then, over 2,700 events were held last October. As of Wednesday, just 10 days away from the upcoming mobilization, more than 3,000 events are planned.
"This unprecedented mobilization is the American people saying NO to President Trump's violent, inhumane treatment of our immigrant neighbors, attacks on our freedom of speech and voting rights, and the weaponization of the federal government."
The rallies will follow Trump's deployment of agents with Customs and Border Protection as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Minnesota's Twin Cities—where CBP and ICE fatally shot two Minnesotans and violated the rights of many more. Local protests and national outrage led to a drawdown, but critics fear similar invasions of other US cities.
"With every ICE raid, every escalation abroad, and every abuse of power at home, Americans are rising up in opposition to Trump's attempt to rule through fear and force. Each day Trump crosses a new red line, and more people are deciding they've had enough," said Levin. "That is why people across the country are organizing, showing up for their neighbors, and making one thing unmistakably clear: We are done with the corruption, the cruelty, and the authoritarianism."
Naveed Shah, political director of Common Defense, highlighted that while "we've watched citizens killed in the streets by militarized forces" in recent months, the Trump administration has also "dragged us deeper into war: sending brave American service members into harm's way and leaving their families to carry the weight of that loss."
In addition to partnering with Israel to launch a war of choice in Iran, Trump this year has sent US forces to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, deployed troops to Ecuador for a joint campaign against "narco-terrorists," continued to bomb boats allegedly trafficking drugs in international waters, and engaged in "economic warfare" against Cuba while repeatedly threatening to take over the island.
"On March 28, we will come together to show that our communities reject corruption, senseless war, and division," declared MoveOn Civic Action executive director Katie Bethell.
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson similarly said that "millions of us will come together to reject the attacks on LGBTQ+ people, the deadly occupation of our cities, and the assaults on our freedoms and demand a nation that lives up to its promise."
Other advocacy and labor groups in the No Kings coalition include the ACLU, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), 50501, League of Conservation Voters, National Education Association, National Nurses United, Public Citizen, Service Employees International Union, and United We Dream.
Join us March 28th nationwide for #NoKings!! ❌👑HOST a protest: bit.ly/nokingshostFIND a protest: bit.ly/nokings328Download the NO KINGS stencil: bit.ly/328stencil
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— Alt National Park Service (@altnps.bsky.social) March 17, 2026 at 1:47 PM
"This unprecedented mobilization is the American people saying NO to President Trump's violent, inhumane treatment of our immigrant neighbors, attacks on our freedom of speech and voting rights, and the weaponization of the federal government," said Deirdre Schifeling, the ACLU's chief political and advocacy officer.
At Trump's direction, Senate Republicans are trying to send the so-called SAVE America Act, a voter suppression bill already approved by the GOP-controlled House of Representatives, to the president's desk. Opponents warn that the legislation would disenfranchise eligible voters who lack access to proof-of-citizenship documents.
"Trump has promoted violence, hatred, lawlessness, and chaos across the country, proving time and time again that he is not a leader," argued Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert. "As we approach our country's 250th birthday, we urge all fellow Americans to join the No Kings movement as a show of patriotism and a vision of the country we deserve."
Next week's protests are scheduled just over seven months before the November midterm elections, which will determine whether Trump's Republican Party keeps control of Congress. The GOP has used its slim majorities in both chambers to impose a 2025 budget package—the One Big Beautiful Bill Act—to pass new tax giveaways to the ultrawealthy while cutting key federal food and healthcare benefits for working-class Americans.
As billionaires enjoy some benefits of GOP policies, working people across the country are struggling with the cost of gasoline, groceries, healthcare, housing, and more. Trump's contested tariffs and war on Iran are exacerbating the affordability crisis.
"America is at an inflection point. Our communities are hurting. People are afraid, and they can't afford basic necessities. It's time the administration listened and helped them build a better life rather than stoking hate and fear," said AFT president Randi Weingarten. "That's why record numbers of us will again take to the streets on March 28 to protect our neighbors, schools, and hospitals from the illegal actions of a wannabe king."
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New Bill Would Crack Down on Prediction Markets After Suspicious Bets on Maduro, Iran
"No one should be able to gamble on death and destruction, especially people connected to Trump with insider knowledge,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
Mar 18, 2026
Two Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday introduced legislation that would prohibit online prediction markets from allowing bets on government actions that could be easily gamed by insiders.
The proposed Banning Event Trading on Sensitive Operations and Federal Functions (BETS OFF) Act, unveiled by US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), would ban "wagering on government actions, terrorism, war, assassination, and events where an individual knows or controls the outcome."
The lawmakers said the legislation was necessary due to suspiciously timed bets that were placed on the cryptocurrency-based prediction platform Polymarket related to imminent US military actions in Venezuela and Iran, raising concerns that Trump administration officials were using insider information to profit from life-or-death policy decisions.
The fact that the bets were placed on Polymarket is notable because Donald Trump Jr., President Donald Trump's eldest son, sits on the company's advisory board. Wired reported last year that Polymarket also received an investment from 1789 Capital, the venture capital firm where Trump Jr. serves as a partner.
Given this potential massive conflict of interest, argued Murphy, it is imperative for Congress to step in and put a stop to possible insider trades related to war and other government policy matters.
"There’s no getting around the fact that any prediction market where somebody knows or controls the outcome of a bet is ripe for corruption,” said Murphy. “Even worse, prediction markets are also an avenue by which government decisions get influenced by who's making money off them, and that should be unforgivable to the American public."
Murphy added that "when events that involve good and evil, life and death become just another financial product, morality no longer matters and the soul of America is fundamentally corrupted."
Casar said that the legislation is needed to battle the "crisis of corruption" engulfing the US government during President Donald Trump's second term.
"Too often, prediction markets are becoming yet another place for rich and powerful people to cash in on insider information," Casar said. "This bill will put a stop to that."
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)—who is co-sponsoring the bill along with Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), and Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI)—said it was "sickening" to think of Trump administration insiders making money from their own acts of military aggression.
"No one should be able to gamble on death and destruction, especially people connected to Trump with insider knowledge,” Tlaib said. “Congress must ban profiting from war and war crimes."
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Poll Shows Most in US Know Corporate Greed Is to Blame for Energy Affordability Crisis
Sixty percent of respondents blamed the energy demand of large users like AI data centers for higher household electricity costs.
Mar 18, 2026
It's been two weeks since Big Tech companies gathered at the White House to sign a nonbinding pledge saying they will not pass on higher utility costs to consumers as the rapid build-out of energy-intensive artificial intelligence data centers sends electricity bills skyrocketing—but polling out Wednesday showed a majority of Americans reject President Donald Trump's plan to leave corporations responsible for tackling the affordability crisis.
Those same companies, said most respondents to a survey by Data for Progress and Groundwork Collaborative, are responsible for higher costs that have hit households across the country, and can't be trusted to ensure life is more affordable for families.
Instead, said 61% of respondents, "cracking down on price gouging" from both utility and energy companies would be the most effective way to lower the cost of electricity. In comparison, just 35% said building more energy infrastructure to meet demands was the answer to high costs.
While Trump has been forced in recent weeks to acknowledge that "energy demands from AI data centers could unfairly drive up" people's energy costs, as he admitted in his State of the Union address while announcing AI companies would sign his "ratepayer protection pledge," the president has largely deflected blame regarding the affordability crisis—or denied its existence altogether.
Trump claimed at a rally in Kentucky last week that "the economy is roaring back," even as his $1 billion-per-day, unprovoked war on Iran inflamed tensions across the Middle East and drove up oil prices.
Groundwork said in its analysis of the poll that following Trump's announcement of the ratepayer protection pledge, "Americans reject this reliance on corporations to do the right thing."
Elizabeth Pancotti, managing director of policy and advocacy for Groundwork Collaborative, said that "utility prices are up and consumers know the truth: These price increases are being driven by corporate greed and unchecked AI data center growth."
Trump has pushed to accelerate the construction of new data centers by fast-tracking the permitting process.
Two-thirds of those surveyed said their monthly electricity payments have gone up in the past year, with nearly a quarter of respondents saying they had increased by "a lot." More than 40% of people said they are now paying between $101-$200 per month for electricity.
As Common Dreams reported last November, Trump's demand for AI companies to build massive, energy-sucking data centers in communities across the US has been linked to rising costs of consumers, with the average overdue balance on utility bills surging by 32% in the last three years and states with high concentrations of AI data centers seeing electricity prices skyrocket by as much as 16% from 2024-25.
Sixty percent of respondents told Data for Progress and Groundwork Collaborative that the energy demand of large commercial users like AI data centers is to blame for higher consumer prices, and the same percentage of people also blamed high compensation for utility company executives. Sixty-three percent of those polled said high profits for utility companies and their investors were to blame.
Joint Economic Committee Democrats revealed Tuesday that the average annual US electric bill increased by $110 last year.
A 2022 analysis by Accountable.US found that the nine largest US energy utility companies raked in nearly $14 billion in combined profits in the first three quarters of that year and handed out $11 billion to shareholders while tens of millions of households struggled with rising utility bills.
Nearly 60% of the 1,149 people polled by the two progressive think tanks also said the public sector must take a leadership role on providing energy, "because the public sector doesn't collect profits and can pass on savings to customers," and 60% said the public sector should be responsible for upgrading and modernizing the electric grid because it is a "public resource that should serve all Americans equally, not generate profits for shareholders."
Alex Jacquez, chief of policy and advocacy for Groundwork and a former Biden administration official, said the poll revealed that "the people believe in public power."
The groups also polled respondents on their opinions of "energy superusers," including cryptocurrency companies, AI data centers, and AI firms.
Crypto companies were the least popular, with 54% disapproving compared to 26% who approved. Voters disapproved of AI data centers by a 16-point margin and AI companies in general by an 8-point margin.
Nearly two-thirds said they believe new AI data centers would raise their energy costs, and voters across the political spectrum opposed new data centers in their communities.
Grassroots efforts have taken off in states including Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Jersey as community members have rejected the construction of data centers on the grounds that they would consume massive amounts of water as well as electricity, threaten jobs, and take up space that could otherwise be used for affordable housing and small businesses.
"Voters feel ripped off by the corporations who hold their utilities hostage and are calling on lawmakers to put an end to the profiteering racket," said Pancotti. "It’s time for regulators and policymakers to answer the call to protect working families from predatory utility corporations and Big Tech.”
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