‘Vote Blue’: No Kings Protesters Openly Back Democrats Despite Organizers’ Nonpartisan Rules, Fox News Reports
Organizers of Saturday’s nationwide “No Kings” protests told participants to keep the events nonpartisan. At official events outside Washington and near the White House, some protesters openly ignored that, Fox News Digital reported.
On South Washington Street in Alexandria, Virginia, at an event Fox said was listed on the organizers’ official website, a young protester had a simple message for voters: “Vote blue.”
“We got to take the power away from Trump, from the Republicans,” she told Fox News Digital. “So we got to win the House, we got to win the Senate, not only in Virginia, but across the country.”
She said she knew about the organizers’ nonpartisan rules. “The No King ... organizers can say whatever,” she said. “But I’m saying vote blue.”
THE RULES FOR THE NO KINGS PROTESTS
According to Fox, the national No Kings organization and its leaders at the nonprofit Indivisible gave written instructions prohibiting calls to “vote Blue,” calls to elect Democrats, candidate endorsements and the targeting of individuals. Fox reported that the guidance also bars partisan slogans, campaign materials and coordination with political parties.
The reason is legal. The organizers say the events must be nonpartisan to comply with federal rules for the nonprofit groups that fund them, Fox reported.
Fox News Digital said it also saw other signs in Alexandria that went past the guidance, including one reading “TRUMP MUST GO NOW!” and another reading “THE USA Needs a Big Beautiful BLUE WAVE.”
Later in the day, Fox spoke with a self-described “professional protester” marching at an official No Kings event on H Street NW near the White House. Asked whether the protest was nonpartisan, she said no. “The people who agree with Trump are not out here,” she said. “They can pretend, but it’s not.”
“Yes, this is a partisan protest,” she told Fox. “This is as partisan as you can get.”
WHAT THE ORGANIZERS SAY
No Kings national spokesperson Eunic Epstein-Ortiz told Fox News Digital that No Kings is a “nonpartisan, peaceful movement that has brought millions of Americans together to stand up for democracy, defend our freedoms, and reject authoritarianism.”
When Fox said its reporting found clearly partisan No Kings events from Maine to Oregon, Epstein-Ortiz said, “We are aware of partisan events circulating online that are not affiliated with or officially organized by No Kings. Many people utilize the No Kings name as a rallying cry.” Fox noted that the Alexandria event was an official one.
Indivisible co-founder Leah Greenberg has described No Kings as a “nonpartisan coalition” meant to welcome people from across the political spectrum, according to Fox. But Fox also reported that during an Oct. 15 livestream, Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin said, “Our candidates are quite good all around the country. Their candidates are quite trash all over the country.” In an Oct. 9 webinar, explaining how activists could criticize Trump while avoiding explicit Democratic endorsements, Levin said, “You’ve got to let people connect the dots on that one,” Fox reported.
WHY IT MATTERS
Fox News Digital has previously reported that about 300 organizations, with $2.5 billion in combined annual revenue, are behind the No Kings protest network, including MoveOn, the American Federation of Teachers and the ACLU.
Fox’s own report also noted an important limit: individual protesters voicing partisan views does not by itself show that event organizers broke election law. Tax-exempt charities and political advocacy groups also face different rules. No regulator has accused the organizers of any violation.
Sources: Fox News Digital (Oct. 17, 2026), on-the-ground reporting from Alexandria, Va., and Washington, D.C. Cover and in-post backgrounds: No Kings protest file photos via Wikimedia Commons (Fibonacci Blue, CC BY 4.0; Andy Thrasher, CC0).
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