Gov. Greg Abbott has again ordered state troopers and Texas National Guard soldiers to Austin ahead of the protest, calling the planned demonstrations "Antifa-linked" despite their sponsorship by groups like the ACLU, League of Women Voters and Sierra Club.

In all, more than 2,500 demonstrations took place nationwide in the largest mobilization of protests since President Trump returned to office.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson is pushing back on Gov. Greg Abbott's deployment of the Texas National Guard and state troops to the city in what he calls a move of militarization—confirming troops will not be in the streets unless needed.

As many as 100,000 were expected to demonstrate in Los Angeles on Saturday as the second round of "No Kings" protests took place across the nation.

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets nationwide as part of the nationwide "No Kings" movement and protests are also happening right here in Central Texas.

Oct. 19, 2025 Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at ‘No Kings’ rally in D.C. © 2025 NBCUniversal Media, LLC

Trump spoke at a $1 million-per-plate MAGA fundraiser Oct. 17, 2025, at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. No Kings protests are Saturday, Oct 18, 2025, nationwide

Anti-Trump rallies kick off in UK, Spain, Germany and Sweden before millions set to march in US - The president insisted he was ‘not a king’ on Friday, one day before demonstrators in 2,500 locations