In the nation’s capital, rallygoers hoist umbrellas at No Kings get-out-the-vote event

WASHINGTON — A couple hundred people carrying decorated umbrellas walked from the former Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House to the U.S. Capitol lawn Saturday for a No Kings get-out-the-vote event in the nation's capital.

No Kings, a coalition that has drawn millions of Americans to protests three times since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, spread out its fourth effort across several Saturday events in Washington, D.C., in addition to thousands across the nation, to encourage early voting. 

The Umbrella Walk was one of them. No Kings worked with the advocacy group Umbrella Walk 4 Change to hold the street protest. 

Octavia Clapp, a 25-year-old protester from Maryland, said using her right to vote especially matters as Trump attempts to wield authority over voting. The Trump administration has spent more than a year in court battles with dozens of states and voting rights groups seeking to force states to provide sensitive voter data and curb voting by mail.

“I think cracking down on mail-in voting and restricting people's ability to vote easily is anti-democratic,” she said. “Democracy is really important to me, and freedom is really important to me.”

Linda Levine, a Washington, D.C., resident, said restrictions on abortion rights drew her to the march. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established abortion as a constitutional right. 

“I am 83 and I can’t believe that my daughter has less rights now than I had,” she said. “We fought for them and this Supreme Court took them away.”

Her daughter, Ari Hershey, attended with her two young sons to show them how to protest.

It was a record number of participants for the Umbrella Walk 4 Change, according to the walk’s organizer, Peter Stinson.

Stinson said he hopes Saturday’s events will lead to larger, more powerful demonstrations in front of the Capitol and eventually impeachment of the president.

“We need 30,000 people right here, right here, every day for about four to six weeks,” he said. 

Ashley Thoj from Lorton, Virginia, attended with her spouse Aida Thoj. For Ashley, early voting was the walk’s most important message.

“Especially now that we're in early voting periods, just getting people to get out to the polls,” she said.

Already, more than 8.5 million Americans have voted in the 2026 midterm election, according to the University of Florida Election Lab.

Unlike past No Kings events, only some of Saturday’s actions involved protests. The events across the United States included help with voter registration, walks to ballot drop-off locations and car pool sign-ups.

At the Umbrella Walk, Stinson ended the march with a reminder to participants to vote and help others vote.

“Work within your circle of influence,” he said. “Work within your skill set.”