Protesters gather in front of the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia, for the Charleston No Kings protest on Saturday, October 18, 2025. The rally and march was one of thousands held across the United States on Saturday. (Photo by Caity Coyne/West Virginia Watch)
Hundreds of residents descended on the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump’s administration and federal policies it enacted that they say are negatively impacting their lives and threatening democracy.
The demonstration was part of the nationwide No Kings protest movement, for which thousands of events were planned on Saturday in all 50 states. In Charleston, the rally was organized by the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, West Virginia Free, the state arm of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Charleston branch of the NAACP, as well as a newly formed grassroots nonprofit organization, West Virginia United.
Around 11 a.m., more than 200 people gathered at the Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse in downtown Charleston before marching together two miles to the State Capitol on the city’s east end. There they met around 200 other residents for a rally. Individuals continued to arrive as the event progressed.
Hundreds of people marched 2 miles from the federal courthouse in Charleston, West Virginia, to the state capitol this morning as part of the No Kings protests.
Protesters chanted “No Kings, No KKK, No Fascist USA” as they walked. Dozens of people honked as they drove by and others parked to join the march.
— Caity Coyne (@caitycoyne.bsky.social) October 18, 2025 at 2:07 p.m
Throughout the crowd, participants carried protest signs. Some were witty, others insulted Trump and other Republicans, while others called on the federal government to preserve democracy and work for the common good. The crowd varied in age – parents pushed babies and toddlers in strollers while older residents, many in their 80s and 90s, sat with their signs under trees on the side of the Capitol building.
Kathy Stalnaker, 65, said she took part in the protest because she feared for the future of her children and grandchildren. A retired teacher, it was far from the first time Stalnaker protested against the government at the West Virginia State Capitol. She was present at the teacher and school strikes in 2018 and 2019.
Now, she said, I feel like there’s more to say.
“My main concern is my children and grandchildren. I studied history and Hitler and Mussolini – all those dictators. That’s the direction we’re going in right now,” Stalnaker said. “Our country cannot end up in the toilet like this. We have worked so hard and for so long to establish this democracy. Now we have to fight for it.”
Stalknaker said it was a challenge deciding what to write on her protest sign.
“There were so many things I could say that I want to say,” Stalnaker said. “All week I just thought, ‘I’m so sick of this. I’m sick of this fear and these threats.'”
In general, residents spoke out Saturday against recent actions and arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as possible federal cuts to health care programs, social safety nets and more that would mostly impact already vulnerable people. They also spoke out against threats aimed at people of color, LGBTQ+ people, journalists and activists, among others.
“It really feels like people are in danger right now, real danger,” said Cheryl Pinckney, who attended the rally from St. Albans with her husband, Don Pinckney.
The Pinckneys moved to West Virginia more than 28 years ago. Don Pinckney said it feels like things have gotten more arduous in recent years. Now they’re seriously considering leaving the state for the first time since moving here.
“In the past, politics hasn’t seemed so polarizing, but frankly we’re scared now,” Don Pinckney said.
“Things feel more permanent now – this hate, this division, all these threats [to democracy]“Cheryl Pinckney continued. “I don’t know how we’re going to change things, but we have to figure it out.”
The march and protest Saturday was peaceful. People in the crowd roared and chanted when asked. Across Kanawha Boulevard, on the banks of the river, several law enforcement officers – from the West Virginia State Police, the Charleston Police Department and the State Capitol Police – monitored the event.
Speakers at the rally included representatives from several nonprofit organizations, including CAG and ACLU. Del. Mike Pushkin, DW.Va., played guitar for those in attendance after a speech in which he asked all older people in the crowd – those in their 70s, 80s or 90s – to clap their hands.
Applause came from all over the area.
“They are out here because they know better. They have been through several governments and they know better,” Pushkin said. “These are the people who know that democracy does not defend itself. We are not subjects, we are citizens. In America we have no kings.
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