Why This Series: Understanding Protest, Power, and Civic Security in 2025
In the summer and autumn of 2025, millions of Americans joined protests under the slogan "No Kings." These events—coordinated by a web of local movements, national NGOs, and online networks—became the largest U.S. demonstrations since 2020. Yet the size and speed of these mobilizations raise enduring questions for journalists, policymakers, and citizens alike: Who organizes them? How are they funded? What ideas unify such broad participation—and what risks emerge when protest rhetoric and partisan identity collide? This CivicSec 7 part blog series investigates those questions with one purpose: to strengthen civic resilience... the ability of democratic societies to protest, disagree, and still remain secure, transparent, and non-violent.
The Center for Civic Security studies how movements, information networks, and funding systems influence civic stability. Our work does not shy away from assessing ideology; when movements or actors promote extremism, reject constitutional principles, or undermine the core values of a free and lawful society, we will say so clearly.
CivicSec’s research examines mechanisms: how mass actions form and scale, how resources and narratives move, and how civic systems manage dissent without sliding into polarization or violence.
The No Kings / 50501 Movement provides a clear case study for this work. It combines grassroots digital coordination with established NGO infrastructure, operates within a highly polarized media environment, and draws participants ranging from mainstream activists to more radical elements. Understanding how its structure, messaging, and alliances function offers valuable insight into the dynamics that can influence any large protest movement in contemporary America.
What Happened in 2025
On June 14 and October 18, coordinated “No Kings” demonstrations filled public squares in more than two thousand American cities. Participants described the events as a defense of democracy and a rejection of perceived authoritarianism in national leadership. Organizers emphasized non-violence; critics viewed the actions as partisan theater.
Local reporting indicates that most gatherings remained peaceful throughout the day, though a handful of after-hours splinters (most notably in Portland and Denver) ended with limited confrontations and arrests. The demonstrations were powered by the 50501 Movement (“50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement”), a digital coordination hub that distributed toolkits, messaging templates, and training materials. Major NGOs, including Indivisible, the ACLU, Public Citizen, and MoveOn, as well as several labor unions, endorsed or supported local efforts.
Why Context Matters
Large public demonstrations are nothing new. What is new is the infrastructure that enables them at unprecedented scale:
- Decentralized digital platforms allow thousands of local actions to occur simultaneously with minimal coordination overhead.
- Hybrid funding models mixing grants, small-dollar donations, and mutual aid, blur the distinction between civic activism and professional advocacy.
- Information ecosystems, ranging from encrypted group chats to viral short-form videos, spread civic messages and misinformation at the same speed.
The same innovations that make peaceful assembly easier can also open pathways for disinformation, opportunistic radicalization, and foreign influence. Understanding how these systems function allows communities and policymakers to anticipate vulnerabilities without criminalizing lawful dissent.
How CivicSec Will Approach the Series
Each installment in this series applies a consistent, transparent framework:
- Actors: Who organizes, funds, and participates.
- Mechanisms: How mobilization occurs across digital, local, and narrative channels.
- Motivations: The goals and values expressed by participants and their sponsors.
- Risks and Controls: How civic systems succeed or fail in maintaining safety, legality, and transparency.
- Resilience Lessons: Practical insights for security and law enforcement, journalists, and local officials.
Our research draws exclusively on verifiable open sources: financial filings, credible local reporting, and Open Source intelligence gathering.
Neutrality and Transparency
CivicSec does not label any organization or cause as extremist or benign without evidence. However, when verifiable behavior, rhetoric, or affiliation demonstrates opposition to constitutional order, democratic norms, or the foundational principles of Western civic life (including the rule of law, pluralism, and market-based enterprise) we will identify it directly. Our role is to clarify, measure, and inform, not to inflame or sensationalize.
Each article in this series will:
- Include confidence ratings for major factual claims.
- Cite multiple reputable, dated sources to ensure transparency (or have them on request).
- Distinguish clearly between documented evidence and hypotheses under review.
Why This Matters Now
A free and stable democracy depends on both the right to protest and the ability to coexist peacefully across ideological divides. Understanding the No Kings Movement is not about choosing sides; it is about learning how modern protest ecosystems operate so that free expression can flourish without being weaponized by actors hostile to democratic or constitutional norms.
“The goal isn’t to choose sides, but to understand how movements, media, and money shape the civic landscape we all share.”
At the Center for Civic Security, we maintain that the No Kings movement has been shaped (intentionally or otherwise) by actors seeking to manipulate legitimate civic activism for partisan or ideological gain. This series will present the evidence and mechanisms behind that assessment, examining each layer of the movement’s structure, messaging, and support networks.
By tracing networks and narratives with transparency, we aim to move public discussion beyond slogans, offering readers context in place of conjecture and evidence instead of emotion.
Next in the series:The No Kings Movement: Who’s Behind America’s Largest 2025 Protest?