Leader Publications: About 500 participate in 'No Kings' protest in Hillsboro

Approximately 500 people braved soggy, and at times stormy, weather to participate in the “No Kings” protest held Oct. 18 in Hillsboro, organizer Maranda Akers said.

The Hillsboro demonstration was one of about 2,600 protests reportedly held that day across the U.S. Numerous news outlets say nearly 7 million took part in the protests around the country last weekend.

About 7,000 people participated in rallies in west St. Louis County and more than 4,000 gathered in south St. Louis County on the same day, according to Indivisible St. Louis, a nonprofit anti-President Donald Trump organization. Thousands more reportedly protested in downtown St. Louis.

Akers, 30, of Hillsboro said organizers never discussed calling off the Jefferson County protest despite the constant rain and occasional thunderstorms.

“It was amazing having 500 people in the rain, thunder and lightning,” she said. “I feel like it motivated people a little bit more. There were cheers going on through the thunder. It was awesome.

“At no point did we say we weren’t going out there. We were going to stand up for democracy, rain or shine.”

[…]

“The whole education thing is a mess. They are trying to gerrymander Missouri. It doesn’t represent what Missourians stand for.”

Protesters also had the opportunity to sign petitions for the right of every student to receive a public education, to overturn newly drawn congressional maps for Missouri designed to help Republicans in next year’s midterm elections, to ensure initiatives passed by voters cannot be overturned and to protect the rights of the LGBTQ community.

“The gerrymandering is a big one, and the respect Missouri voters is a big one,” Akers said of the petitions. “I know a lot of people are frustrated with the way Amendment 3 (a ballot issue approved in November 2024 to legalize abortion in Missouri until fetal viability) was handled. The government has said they want things to go back to the states, but we are not listening to what people in the states want.”

You can read the full article on the Leader Publications’ website here.