Hundreds marched across the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the No Kings day rally in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans packed streets, parks and town squares across the United States Saturday for No Kings day, according to the organizers of the massive day of demonstrations protesting President Donald Trump’s administration — from his deployment of troops to cities to his targeting of political opponents.

Thousands upon thousands showed up for the second organized No Kings day in America’s largest cities like Atlanta, New York City and Chicago, to smaller metro areas and towns including Greensburg, Pennsylvania; Bismarck, North Dakota; and Hammond, Louisiana. More than 2,600 nonviolent demonstrations were planned.

By Saturday evening, it appeared most protests were peaceful, with a handful of isolated scuffles reported across the country.

In a separate demonstration in Portland, Oregon, federal officers on the roof of the city’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building shot pepper balls at protestors. No Kings organizers said they were not involved in activities at the ICE facility, which has been the center of weeks of protests.

The first No Kings day coincided with Trump’s military parade that occurred on his 79th birthday in June. 

Demonstrators decried Trump’s dispatch of National Guard troops to several U.S. cities, as well as ongoing immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles, the nation’s capital, Portland, Oregon, and Chicago and where U.S. citizens have been swept up in raids.

Ben Grimes, of Northern Virginia, who said he spent two decades in the U.S. Army piloting helicopters and working as a military lawyer, held a sign bearing the message “I Served America Not Autocracy.” 

Grimes stood among tens of thousands of demonstrators who stretched down several blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue at the Washington, D.C., No Kings day event.

“We’re sliding very rapidly into autocracy and lawlessness,” said the 52-year-old veteran, whose career included a deployment to Baghdad. 

“Just about everything has worried me, but I am particularly concerned about the use of the deployment of military troops in the U.S. and the apparent lawless killing of civilians in the Caribbean,” Grimes said.

Peggy and Ken Greco donned clown costumes, and displayed a sign that read “Elect a Clown Expect a Circus.”

The couple drove from Augusta, Georgia, to attend the D.C. rally.

“We came because we feel very powerless about what’s going on, and we have to do something,” Peggy, 69, said, becoming emotional.

 In Chicago, Grant Park filled with thousands of people carrying symbols of repudiation of the Trump administration, particularly U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, from anti-ICE signs to posters satirizing the president.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, also called on the crowd to be united and speak out. 

“Democracy requires your courage, and tyranny requires good people doing nothing … and it fails when ordinary people refuse to cooperate and they say, ‘no kings’ and mean it,” Pritzker said. 

Thousands of people gathered in Times Square in Manhattan for New York City’s No Kings day peaceful 1.6-mile march down 7th Avenue.

Silas Perez, 21, who lives in the Bronx, said she “wants to fight for our rights while we still have them.” 

“They want to say ‘Make America Great Again.’ It was better before,” Perez said. “This is worse.” 

Jacob Chansley, known to most as the “Q Shaman,” spoke to the Arizona Mirror about why he was at Saturday’s No Kings event at the state capitol in Phoenix.

“For me it has always been about protecting the American people,” Chansley said, dressed in the same garb and holding the spear he had at the Capitol on January 6. 

He denied the events of January 6 were an insurrection and said it was “staged by the government” and pointed to a sign he was holding when asked what brought him out to the rally. His sign made references to the Epstein files and criticisms of Israel.

In Lexington, Kentucky, protester Gracia O’Brien, 71, said, “I’m old, and I’ve never been scared for our democracy. I am now.” 

In Fargo, North Dakota, Ken Opheim showed up in a red hat but with an anti-Trump message: Quid Pro Quo Trump Must Go. “Everything he does, he gets something back for himself,” Opheim said.

Lawmakers, activists and celebrities spoke at rallies across the country — Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in Atlanta, actor John Cusack in Chicago, Bill Nye “the Science Guy” in Washington, D.C. Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Chris Murphy of Connecticut also spoke to the massive crowd in the nation’s capital.

“He has not won yet, the people still rule in this country,” Murphy, a Democrat, said. “Trump thinks that he’s a king, and he thinks he can act more corruptly when the government is shut down.”

The protesters took to the streets during the ongoing government shutdown to question Trump’s actions since he took office for his second presidential term on Jan. 20.

Trump revamped his legally questionable mass firing of federal workers on Oct. 10, this time against the backdrop of the nearly three-week government funding lapse. 

Amid the shutdown, Trump this past week authorized a $40 billion bailout for Argentina. The administration also continues to amass defense resources along the coast of Venezuela and carry out extrajudicial strikes on alleged drug running boats in the Caribbean Sea, killing dozens.

Repeatedly, Trump has threatened to use the shutdown as an opportunity to permanently cut “Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans” by canceling funding already appropriated by Congress.

A member of his own party, GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, said the Government Accountability Office should sue the for his administration’s illegal impoundment of funds already written into law — something he began to do long before the shutdown.

Since January, Trump has canceled billions in foreign aid, medical research, natural disaster assistance, and funding for museums and libraries, early childhood education and energy efficiency programs for K-12 schools.

Trump’s use of power was on full display when he invoked the Alien Enemies Act in March and defied a federal judge’s order by sending hundreds of immigrants, many without due process, to a mega-prison in El Salvador. The mistakenly deported Kilmar Arego Garcia became the face of Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

Nearly 300 partner organizations signed on to the nonviolent No Kings day, from local- and state-level groups to large national liberal advocacy bodies and labor unions, including the ACLU, Common Cause, Indivisible, the League of Women Voters and SEIU.

 

Trump was not in Washington during the rally. He left the White House Friday afternoon to spend the weekend at his Florida residence and was at his golf course on Saturday, according to the White House press corps traveling with the president.

Republicans have characterized the No Kings event as anti-American. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana recently described the event on Fox News as a “hate America rally,” claiming “it’s all the pro-Hamas wing and the antifa people.”

Trump declared “antifa” as a “domestic terrorist organization” last month, despite the fact that such a group does not exist. “Antifa,” shorthand for anti-fascist, is an ideology disapproving of fascist governance.  He also issued a directive targeting progressive organizations, including Indivisible, according to a list the White House provided to Reuters.

IN THE STATES

West Virginia

Protesters turn out en masse against Trump during No Kings protest at West Virginia Capitol, West Virginia Watch reports.

Hundreds of protesters descended on the West Virginia capitol to speak out against detainments by ICE, potential federal cuts to health care programs, social safety nets and more that would largely impact already vulnerable people. 

Oklahoma

Over 1,000 gather in Oklahoma City as part of nationwide No Kings protests, the Oklahoma Voice reports.

More than 1,000 people braved the rain in Oklahoma City, donning ponchos and inflatable costumes to join a protest outside City Hall. Many signs and speakers focused on anger with Trump’s deportation campaign, failure to release evidence in the Department of Justice’s investigation into Florida sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the conflict in Gaza. 

Arkansas

Hundreds gather in Little Rock for second No Kings rally, annual LGBTQ+ Pride festivities, the Arkansas Advocate reports.

In downtown Little Rock, the No Kings protest coincided with annual Pride celebrations. Hundreds of Arkansans marched down Capitol Avenue to protest Trump’s administration and to celebrate LGBTQ+ Arkansans.

New Hampshire 

Second No Kings protest draws thousands in New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Bulletin reports.

Granite Staters who took to the streets in Concord said concerns about health care, immigration, racism, disability rights, free speech and more motivated them to join the capital’s No Kings protest.

Chicago

Alongside Pritzker in Grant Park, Mayor Brandon Johnson condemned Trump over recent immigration enforcement and compared the president’s deployment of troops to the city to the Civil War, Stateline reported.

“There are those in this country that have decided, at the behest of this president, to declare war on Chicago and American cities across this country,’’ Johnson, a Democrat, said. “They have clearly decided that they want a rematch of the Civil War.”

Johnson vowed that he would stand committed and would not bend to what he described as authoritarian moves by the administration. 

Virginia

Thousands flood Richmond streets for No Kings rally in protest of Trump administration, the Virginia Mercury reports. 

Organizers said over 10,000 people participated in the Richmond event. Families of all ages and backgrounds held signs, donned costumes, and sang pro-America songs at the Capitol before marching down Broad Street. 

The Richmond protest featured speakers highlighting federal workers’ interrupted paychecks because of the shutdown, as well as their fear of the rise of fascism.

Indiana

‘Not pawns’: Thousands of Hoosiers turn out for No Kings protests, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reports.

A thick sea of Hoosiers flooded the Indiana Statehouse’s lawn for hours on Saturday — raising defiant fists and signs. Among the issues the crowd focused on were deportation policy, health care cuts and the belief that Trump is an authoritarian.

New York City

As in other cities, many demonstrators wore inflatable animal and fruit costumes, Stateline reports. Many also held elaborate handmade signs with messages such as “Trump must go now!” Others banged on drums or played music to rally the crowd.

Democratic New York City Comptroller Brad Lander told Stateline that state and local lawmakers need to stand up to a government that isn’t abiding by one of its founding principles — no taxation without representation. 

“The federal government is collecting our taxes and not giving it back to us for services or infrastructure,’” Lander said. “So one thing state legislatures can be thinking about is ‘where are we pooling our money, before we give it to Washington?’”

Tennessee

Across Tennessee, No Kings protesters push back on Trump administration policies, the Tennessee Lookout reports.

Rallies occurred in 33 Tennessee towns and cities, including Memphis, where National Guard troops and agents from a federal task force have deployed. The Memphis demonstration took place one day after Shelby County officials, including Mayor Lee Harris, and state lawmakers from Memphis filed suit against Gov. Bill Lee over what they allege is unconstitutional deployment of Tennessee National Guard troops to the city.

Iowa

Iowans criticize GOP representatives, Trump at Des Moines No Kings demonstration, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. 

Democratic state lawmakers, union organizers, immigrant advocates and teachers in Des Moines decried Trump’s and Republicans’ policies. Speakers also emphasized Iowa will play a vital role in putting a check on Trump’s power in the 2026 election, and encouraged Iowans to vote and stay politically engaged. 

Maine

Thousands across Maine protest against Trump administration in second No Kings day, the Maine Morning Star reports.

Exactly 250 years to the day after the British attacked what is now Portland, Maine, during the Revolutionary War, thousands gathered in the city and across the state to declare the same thing Americans fought for then: no kings.

In Portland, participation nearly doubled Saturday from June’s protest. New attendees said they decided to show up because they feel the country has reached an untenable state, but speeches at the protests showed continued hope for change.  

Florida

Florida crowds throng to denounce Trump, ‘fascism’ on No Kings Day, the Florida Phoenix reports.

In Miami, an estimated 5,000 people clad in American flags, golden crowns, and frog and Sasquatch costumes flooded Bayfront Park to chant against Trump. The event was held in front of the Torch of Friendship, a 1960 monument built as a beacon to welcome immigrants.

One disruption hit the Miami gathering when Barry Ramey and another member of the far-right group the Proud Boys briefly showed up to counter-protest. Ramey was one of the men sentenced for rioting at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. City police quickly formed an escort to safely lead them out, as angry anti-Trump protesters screamed Spanish expletives at them.

New Mexico

Thousands protest in Santa Fe, Albuquerque for No Kings day, Source New Mexico reports.

Marchers in Santa Fe chanted a variety of messages, including: “No Kings/No ICE” and “This is what democracy looks like.” One man played the David Bowie/Queen song “Under Pressure” repeatedly from a small speaker.

Idaho

Thousands of Idahoans turn out for Boise’s anti-Trump No Kings protest at state Capitol building, the Idaho Capital Sun reports.

Thousands of people protested against Trump and government overreach at the Idaho capitol in Boise. American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho board member Sam Linnet spoke out against what he said is a government that is using fear to divide the American people. 

Rhode Island

No Kings but lots of people with something to stand for outside Rhode Island State House, the Rhode Island Current reports.

A diversity of animal costumes was among the crowd in Providence, as were a variety of people from all ages and backgrounds. 

Three teenagers perched at the feet of Nathanael Greene, a general in George Washington’s army who, in statue form, continues to look over the city from the base of the State House steps. The Democratic Socialists of America had set up an information booth underneath a tree’s shade. A woman who declined to be interviewed sported an outfit with Beanie Baby cats attached, and a sign that read “Cat ladies against Trump.”

Ohio

Thousands of No Kings protesters stage peaceful demonstration at Ohio Statehouse, the Ohio Capital Journal reports.

Alabama

‘We’ve got to do something:’ Thousands attend ‘No Kings’ protests in Alabama, the Alabama Reflector reports.

About 15 protests were scheduled around Alabama. Speakers and participants criticized the administration’s seizure of power, its arrest and detention of immigrants and its health care policies. Others said Trump administration policies were hurting members of their families. Crowd sizes varied, from about 40 people in Selma to up to 2,000 in Birmingham.

New Jersey

Thousands protest Donald Trump at New Jersey No Kings rallies, the New Jersey Monitor reports.

New Jersey residents took their rage — and ridicule — to the streets, with some wearing silly costumes to push back on critics’ claims that protesters are violent, anti-American extremists.

Minnesota

Thousands gather in downtown Minneapolis for anti-Trump rally, the Minnesota Reformer reports.

People told the Reformer they were there to fight for democracy against the threat of what they say is Trump’s overreach, including deploying the National Guard to cities, deporting immigrants without due process and cutting off federal funds to Democratic states. 

Protestors carried signs decrying authoritarianism — “No Kings, No Fascists” — and condemning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — “I like my democracy neat. Hold the ICE.” 

North Carolina

Thousands gather for No Kings protest in Raleigh to condemn Trump, North Carolina Newsline reports.

From noon to 3 p.m., cars and trucks in Raleigh were honking their support for a No Kings protest that lined both sides of a divided highway, drawing thousands of demonstrators frustrated with the Trump administration. The mood was light despite the serious issues raised, with many wearing colorful costumes and playing cheery tunes.

Montana

Small towns in Montana rally for ‘No Kings,’ the Daily Montanan reports.

Montanans turned out in traditionally red communities, such as Dillon, population roughly 4,000, and they gathered in tiny outposts such as Polebridge, on the edge of Glacier National Park, which almost saw more demonstrators than full-time residents. Most of the people who turned out to demonstrate appeared to be those who had already opposed Trump.

Demonstrators said they rallied to show support for democracy, for the U.S. Constitution, for civil liberties, for federal workers, for immigrants, for their own grandchildren, for health care, for the proper use of military troops, and for science and research.

Kansas

Small No Kings event puts love ahead of politics in rural Kansas town where immigrants are detained, the Kansas Reflector reports.

Kay Krause of Cottonwood Falls hosted a “love in action” rally at her house. The gathering of 13 in the rural town of about 800 people was among the smallest of the 42 No Kings events that were planned across the state as part of a nationwide uprising.

Krause’s event was different because it focused on kindness rather than the anger toward the Trump administration. Trump won about 75% of the Chase County votes in last year’s election.

Nebraska

Protesters gather around Nebraska Capitol for No Kings protest, the Nebraska Examiner reports.

Protesters held anti-Trump signs criticizing the callousness of the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts and cuts to federal services. Some chanted for Trump “to go.” Some protesters said they were happy with the turnout, citing frustrations over the president’s deployment of the National Guard to Democratic-led cities and attacks on transgender rights as frustrations.

Missouri

No Kings rallies draw thousands across Missouri, bolster initiative petition campaigns, the Missouri Independent reports.

Thousands gathered in cities and towns all over Missouri Saturday at No Kings demonstrations to speak up against the many ways they believe Trump’s and Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe’s administrations are a threat to democracy. 

A St. Louis protester said he was appalled by Missouri’s new congressional map, which he called nothing but a “power grab.”

Michigan

Demonstrators amplify growing fear of Trump autocracy during Michigan-wide No Kings rallies, the Michigan Advance reports.

More than 100 communities from southeast Michigan to the westernmost part of the Upper Peninsula joined in a show of might to advocate for civil rights, democracy and the rule of law. 

In Lansing, security for the protest was pronounced, with several state police in tactical gear and road patrol uniforms on the lookout for threats. As the crowd grew, cars and trucks driving by honked in support throughout the event. Some waved flags, held up signs or played loud music, and most were met with cheers and applause from demonstrators along North Capitol Avenue.

Maryland

On Eastern Shore, in Baltimore, across the state, thousands turn out for No Kings, Maryland Matters reports.

Rallies in Baltimore and Centreville were just two of more than 60 events scheduled in Maryland, from Ocean City to LaVale and from Northeast to Lexington Park and scores of points in between.

They were in big cities like Baltimore and small towns like Centreville. They were in deep blue counties like Montgomery, which had more than a dozen events scheduled, to deep red counties like Carroll, where one event was scheduled for the County Government Building in Westminster for those willing to brave it.

South Carolina

Thousands rally at SC Statehouse during nationwide No Kings protest, South Carolina Daily Gazette reports.

In Columbia, protesters’ top issues included recent waves of deportations, federal cuts to health care research and what they considered moves away from democracy. Attention turned to statewide issues as well. 

Alex Baumhardt, Jerold MacDonald-Evoy, Shalina Chatlani, Robbie Sequeira, Jeff Beach and Jamie Lucke contributed to this report.

Military personnel enter Broadview ICE facility Thursday | Photo by Andrew Adams/Capitol News Illinois

CHICAGO — A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from deploying 500 National Guard troops to Chicago as the administration’s immigration enforcement actions have intensified — along with protests against them.

U.S. District Judge April Perry noted the ongoing protests outside a local immigration processing center have never exceeded 200 demonstrators. She said the demonstrations fall far short of the high legal bar needed to be characterized as a “rebellion” that would allow the administration to take control of the Illinois National Guard and deploy troops from Texas and California to Chicago.

“I have seen no credible evidence that there is a danger of rebellion in the state of Illinois,” the judge said as she issued her oral ruling late Thursday afternoon.

While Perry acknowledged protesters have assaulted immigration agents and damaged federal property — namely vehicles belonging to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol — the judge said there was far more evidence that the feds actually escalated or even caused clashes with activists.

More than a dozen protestors have been arrested in recent weeks outside an ICE processing center in the suburb of Broadview, approximately 13 miles directly west of Thursday’s hearing in Chicago’s Dirksen Federal Courthouse.

The ICE facility has been the epicenter of protests against the Trump administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement actions in the last month. The Department of Homeland Security claims “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago and its suburbs has resulted in the arrests of more than 1,000 people.

Read more: Court scrutiny of ICE mounts as judge rules warrantless arrests violated order

National Guard would add ‘fuel to the fire’

DHS claims the federal troop deployment is necessary to protect the facility, along with federal immigration agents working in and around it.

But the judge agreed with arguments put forth by the state and city of Chicago in its lawsuit that deploying the National Guard was more likely to lead to civil unrest than be a force for peacekeeping, as guardsmen are “not trained in de-escalation.” Throughout nearly three hours of arguments in her courtroom, she continually pushed back on U.S. Department of Justice lawyers’ claims that Chicago-area immigration protests had grown out of control due to violent agitators.

Perry noted that for 19 years, weekly prayer vigils outside the Broadview facility occurred without incident. But she said most of the evidence pointed to federal agents — not protesters — as the catalysts for violence. She recounted recent incidents in which agents used chemical agents and nonlethal rounds against crowds “as small as 10 people.”

Deploying the guard “will only add fuel to the fire that the defendants themselves have started,” she said.

The judge will publish a written decision on Friday. But after giving her a verbal ruling Thursday, she agreed to use the widest possible wording to prevent the Trump administration from deploying troops from other states while her 14-day temporary restraining order remains in place.

For now, the feds won’t be able to order troops to perform their “federal protective missions” anywhere in Illinois.

That includes members of the Texas National Guard, who made their first appearance Thursday morning at the Broadview facility.

Texas Guard is already here

The Trump administration dispatched National Guard troops to Illinois from Texas earlier this week, even after the judge on Monday urged them to wait for Thursday’s hearing. Fourteen members of California’s National Guard were also sent to the Chicago area in order to train Illinois troops. Eric Wells, a top lawyer for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, argued the move was a harbinger of “wanton tyranny.”

“I can only say that what I think what we heard from the United States Department of Justice was startling, unbounded, limitless and not in accord with our system of ordered liberty of federalism, of a constitutional structure that has protected this nation and allowed it to prosper for hundreds of years,” Wells said as he began his final arguments.

Raoul sat front-row throughout Thursday’s arguments in the courtroom and grew emotional while answering reporter questions after Perry’s ruling. He called the attorneys who worked on the case “true American heroes.”

“This is an important decision not just for the state of Illinois but for the entire country,” he said. “The question of state sovereignty was addressed in this decision. The question of whether or not the president of the United States should have unfettered authority to militarize our cities was answered today.”

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Trump administration to appeal

The Trump administration is poised to appeal Perry’s decision, just as it challenged a decision from Trump-appointed federal judge in Oregon who also blocked the National Guard’s deployment to Portland over the weekend. The 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday heard the case, during which two other Trump-appointed judges appeared amenable to arguments that a president should be given deference in matters of national security, according to reporting from POLITICO.

DOJ lawyer Eric Hamilton also pushed for deference in his arguments to Perry Thursday. He said it wasn’t up to the judge to decide whether there was a risk of rebellion or even whether Trump was “relying on completely invalid evidence,” as Perry put it.

Hamilton painted a much darker picture of the protests in Broadview and Chicago, claiming that “sustained violence” in recent weeks was preventing DHS from “executing federal law.”

“They are not protesters,” he said. “They are the violent resistance of duly enacted immigration laws.”

Hamilton said dozens of agents have been “injured, hit, punched” — one even had his beard ripped off by a protester, he alleged.

“How — how did that happen?” Perry asked at one point. “Like an entire … not pieces of hair? His whole beard?”

“I believe that’s what the declaration says,” Hamilton said, referring to a filing in the case.

‘DHS’ version of events are unreliable’

In delivering her ruling, Perry said the DOJ’s arguments in the National Guard case seemed to add to “a growing body of evidence that DHS’ version of events are unreliable.” She said the administration’s characterization of immigration protests “cannot be aligned” with the accounts of local and state law enforcement submitted in legal filings.

For example, Hamilton referenced recent arrests of protesters, including a couple who were arrested for allegedly assaulting officers and happened to be carrying their licensed concealed weapons. But a federal grand jury this week declined to indict the couple, along with a third person, all of whom had already been released on bond.

Over the weekend, a Customs and Border Protection agent shot a woman in Brighton Park on Chicago’s Southwest Side during an altercation with agents. DHS officials allege the woman was one of 10 drivers who were following federal agents’ vehicles Saturday morning and eventually boxed them in.

But her attorney told a federal judge this week that body-camera footage contradicts that narrative and shows an officer shouting “do something b—-,” according to reporting from the Chicago Sun-Times. She and another driver were arrested over the weekend but the judge ordered them released.

Hamilton also referred to the incident several times, claiming drivers were “ramming” into immigration vehicles.

None of the other protesters arrested by either federal or local authorities in recent weeks remain in detention, with most arrestees handcuffed and immediately released after receiving a citation.

Federal prosecutors on Thursday dropped charges against one of the arrested protesters, one day after a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order against ICE barring agents from arresting peaceful protesters or journalists covering immigration demonstrations. It also bars federal agents from using harsh crowd control methods such as tear gas and other non-lethal weapons and ammunition.

The judge pointed out the Trump administration activated the National Guard the same weekend a federal immigration official stationed in Broadview described as a “great weekend” in an internal email late Sunday night. The official said the relative calm was due to the Illinois State Police, which last week formalized cooperation with Broadview Police and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office into a “unified command” and put up fencing around the building.

Perry cited the dropped charges for protesters this week, the First Amendment restraining order won by journalism groups, and another federal judge’s ruling Tuesday that ICE violated a consent decree restricting warrantless arrests.

“So to summarize, in the last 48 hours, in four separate unrelated legal decisions from four different neutral parties, they all cast doubt on DHS’ version of events,” the judge said.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

This article first appeared on Capitol News Illinois and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Oct. 7, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi aimed heated rhetoric at Democratic senators on Capitol Hill Tuesday as she faced questions over the administration’s surge of federal agents to blue cities, as well as a litany of controversial issues surrounding the Department of Justice. 

In one fervid exchange during the routine oversight hearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Bondi lashed out at Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, “I wish you’d love Chicago as much as you hate President Trump.”

“And currently the National Guard are on the way to Chicago — if you’re not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will,” Bondi continued, responding to a question from Durbin on whether she had any conversations with the administration ahead of a deployment of the National Guard to Chicago.

“And by the way so is (FBI) Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. You’re sitting here grilling me, and they’re on their way to Chicago to keep your state safe,” Bondi said.

“Madam Attorney General, it’s my job to grill you,” Durbin responded.

Battles with states

Bondi’s hearing occurred after a whirlwind weekend of back-and-forth between a federal judge and the Trump administration over whether National Guard troops could be sent to Portland, Oregon, and were necessary to protect federal law enforcement engaged with Immigration and Custom Enforcement protesters.

Illinois is now locked in a legal battle to block troops from coming to Chicago.

Chicago is a month into a federal crackdown. One of the most high-profile raids occurred in the city’s South Shore neighborhood on Sept. 30 when dozens of federal agents, including from the FBI, overran a five-story apartment building with helicopters and flashbangs, ziptying adults and children, and detaining some U.S. citizens, according to multiple media reports. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security published a highly produced video of the raid on social media.

Bondi’s voice grew hoarse during the hearing as she defended the administration’s campaign to arrest “countless” immigrants she described as “illegal aliens.”

The attorney general was combative with Democratic senators throughout nearly five hours of questioning — telling Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, “Don’t you ever challenge my integrity” when he asked about DOJ’s recently dismissed antitrust lawsuit against American Express. 

Bondi later accused Sen. Mazie Hirono of supporting the loose political ideology antifa — which the White House is targeting as a cohesive body — when the Hawaii Democrat questioned a range of issues, including the department’s alleged consideration of a compensation fund for pardoned Jan. 6 rioters.

Tom Homan troubles aired

A laundry list of controversial incidents trailed Bondi into the committee room for the oversight hearing — including revelations of FBI agents handing $50,000 in a restaurant takeout bag to Tom Homan, Trump ally and now White House border czar, ahead of the November 2024 election in exchange for false government contracts.

Bondi declined to answer Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse when he asked, “What became of the $50,000 in cash that the FBI delivered evidently in a paper bag to Mr. Homan?” 

Whitehouse, of Rhode Island, and other Democratic senators asked if Homan kept the money and if he claimed it on his income tax return.

“The investigation of Mr. Homan was subjected to a full review by the FBI and the DOJ. They found no credible evidence of wrongdoing,” Bondi said.

She then accused Whitehouse of corruption and accepting “dark money.”

“The questions here are actually pretty specific, so having you respond with completely irrelevant far-right internet talking points is really not very helpful,” Whitehouse said.

Comey indictment directed by Trump

Lawmakers from both parties volleyed accusations of the department’s “weaponization” against the previous and current administrations. 

Bondi’s appearance came less than two weeks after a grand jury returned an indictment of former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey. The indictment swiftly followed the administration’s ouster of interim U.S. Attorney Erik Seibert in Virginia after he resisted bringing charges against Comey and New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James. The administration replaced Seibert with President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Lindsey Halligan. 

Days before the Comey indictment, Trump directly appealed to Bondi as “Pam” on his social media platform Truth Social: “What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.”

Schiff, a California Democrat, sits on the Judiciary Committee. Late in the hearing, Bondi suggested Schiff should “apologize” to Trump for his past efforts in impeachment proceedings during the president’s first term. Bondi also attacked Schiff as a “failed lawyer.”

Grassley Jan. 6 disclosure

Republicans seethed during the hearing at Monday’s disclosure by Committee Chair Chuck Grassley that FBI agents analyzed data on more than half a dozen Republican lawmakers’ phones during their 2023 investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

The FBI allegedly sought data from the days surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack from the phones of Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, as well as Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania. 

Hawley likened the investigation of his colleagues’ phones to a “witch hunt” and called for a special prosecutor to “get to the bottom of” alleged Department of Justice activities under former President Joe Biden.

“I find this breathtaking,” said Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana.

At Kennedy’s urging, Grassley of Iowa said his staff is conducting an investigation of the possible collection of phone data and that he may schedule a separate hearing on the matter.

Trump responded to the disclosure Tuesday morning on Truth Social: “Deranged Jack Smith got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. A real sleazebag!!!” 

Bondi also faced scrutiny from Democratic senators who rehashed her promises to release information on the federal probe of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, only to be followed by an FBI memo denying the release of any further case files.

A bipartisan effort is underway in the U.S. House to compel the release of the government’s investigative materials.