Photos: Fairwood joins The Landing in Renton for No Kings protest

In a familiar sight, thousands filled the sidewalks and intersections of Renton for the second No Kings protest of the year, from the L.A. Fitness to the parking garage for The Landing shopping center. What makes this latest protest different from the previous ones is the addition of a Fairwood protest earlier in the day.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at the intersection of Southeast Petrovitsky Road and 140th Avenue Southeast, hundreds filled the intersection sidewalks, some wearing costumes and most everyone holding a sign in protest of the Trump administration.

According to Fairwood No Kings organizer Lori Conrath, she chose the large intersection because it would have a “constant flow of people from different areas,” and the protest would then have more exposure.

“Fairwood has been underserved,” she said. Conrath added that she wanted to show people how easy it is to come out and let their voices be heard. “It’s why we’re protesting. We need to stop the coup,” she said.

At noon, many Fairwood protesters made their way to The Landing in Renton at 719 N. 10th Street and Logan Avenue to join the larger protest. A weekly demonstration has been held at The Landing since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, and the crowd was filled with familiar signs from past protests, along with many new ones, with references to the National Forest Service, reproductive rights, the Revolutionary War, the war in Ukraine, Palestine, habeas corpus, Immigration and Customs Agency (ICE), patriotism, democracy and even former President Nixon.

“His administration is sending masked agents into our streets, terrorizing our communities,” according to a statement from the No Kings website on the Oct. 18 protests. “They are targeting immigrant families, profiling, arresting and detaining people without warrants. Threatening to overtake elections. Gutting health care, environmental protections, and education when families need them most. Rigging maps to silence voters. Ignoring mass shootings at our schools and in our communities. Driving up the cost of living while handing out massive giveaways to billionaire allies, as families struggle.

“The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty.”

According to Indivisible, a national organizer of grassroots protests, there were about 2,700 protests and rallies in all 50 states on Saturday.