March 28th brought a rare hint of spring to Minnesota—50 degrees, clear blue skies, and a brisk wind that felt very welcome after a punishing winter. But the season’s hardship extended beyond the weather. It was also marked by the presence of more than 2,000 ICE agents deployed as part of Operation Metro Surge.

With national attention fixed on Minnesota as a focal point of the No Kings movement, the weight of this moment runs deeper than recent immigration enforcement alone. Less than a year earlier, in June 2025, State Representative and former House Speaker Melissa Hortman, her husband, and their dog were killed in a political assassination at their home. That event cast a long shadow over the state, heightening fears around political violence and public safety. In its aftermath, No Kings events were cancelled amid concerns for community safety.

The energy among Minnesotans preparing for No Kings this year was a stark contrast to the fear that filled the community after its cancellation last June.

In the days leading up to the No Kings march, anticipation pulsed through the city. Casual, neighborly conversations about weekend plans were often followed by, “Oh—we’re going to No Kings,” along with discussions of parking logistics and how people planned to show up.

For those who waited too long, making a sign became its own challenge—craft store racks were stripped bare of poster board and thick markers. Moms brought their kids in search of glitter and whatever supplies remained. I overheard 10-year-olds debating what to write on their signs, one asking her mom if she could swear at the protest. They settled on a compromise: “Frick ICE.”

On the day of the protest, coffee shops filled early with people timing their departures for gathering points across the city. While waiting for the train, I overheard a group who had driven two and a half hours from southern Wisconsin, coming to show solidarity with their Midwestern neighbors and outrage at what the Twin Cities had endured.

By the time the trains arrived, they were packed to the brim, with people of all ages squeezed together. The cars were so crowded that many protestors had to let multiple trains pass before there was room to board. Elderly riders leaned on walkers, teenagers clustered in groups, while parents held children close or carried them strapped to their chests. Even in the crowding, there was a sense of care: apologies for bumping into one another, reassurances exchanged between strangers. The atmosphere carried both urgency and a quiet, shared understanding.

Multiple marches began across the city and converged at the Capitol, where drums blared and speakers’ calls to action rang out over the crowd. Families spanning multiple generations gathered for photos with their cheeky signs. The messages on those signs reflected a wide range of concerns and political alignments—opposition to U.S. alliance with Israel, critiques of capitalism’s impact on quality of life and the environment, and slogans like “The only safe place in America is the Epstein Files.”

People paused to capture the moment—at one point, a father snapped pictures of his twenty-something daughters posing in front of the Capitol, their signs held just right in an unmistakably Instagram-ready scene.

For those who have been on the front lines since Operation Metro Surge began—organizing and mobilizing in support of immigrant neighbors through mutual aid, patrol groups, rides, and crowdfunding rent—No Kings felt, at times, performative. The numbers matter. The visibility of support matters. But for some individuals, especially those deeply embedded in the work, the event carried a sense of performance rather than urgency.

That tension is exactly why what comes next matters. Visibility alone is not the endpoint—it has to translate into sustained action, deeper commitment, and collective pressure that cannot be ignored. As May Day approaches, there is a critical opportunity to move beyond symbolism and into mass mobilization. This moment calls for people to show up not just once, but consistently—bringing their time, resources, and voices into alignment with those who have been doing this work all along.

If we want to maintain momentum and push toward real, material change, May Day cannot be another isolated moment. It needs to be a continuation—a scaling up—of the networks, relationships, and systems of support already in motion.

And still, the sheer number of bodies mattered. Across the country, millions showed up—one of the largest protest mobilizations in U.S. history —and No Kings became a visible representation of just how many people stood in opposition to the Trump regime. The crowds reflected a broad, collective dissent: against authoritarianism, against the war in Iran, and against the ongoing violence in Palestine. To witness that scale of resistance, physically and publicly, carried its own kind of power.

There is hope that the momentum from No Kings will carry into the May Day strike. It has made clear that there is a real desire to mobilize—and as the political climate continues to intensify, Minnesota is both tired and ready. In many ways, communities here have already been experiencing what the rest of the country is only now beginning to confront.

Calls to action among workers, students, and community members are already underway. Minnesotans have begun organizing boycotts and withholding support from corporations—such as Target—that are seen as complicit in funding the Trump regime and enabling operations like Operation Metro Surge.

Organizers are putting the skills they built during Operation Metro Surge into practice, actively developing plans for May Day. Coordinated shutdowns are being organized across the city, with workers from multiple sectors aligning their efforts in an attempt to bring the city to a standstill for a day.

Strikes are a necessary tactic, and as we have seen in Minnesota, they must be coupled with the sustained development of worker assemblies, unions, and durable forms of collective organization to build a framework capable of redistributing power and contesting authoritarian, Trump-aligned, capitalist governance.

The post Building Power from No Kings to May Day: Reflections from a Minneapolis Activist appeared first on Left Voice.

From Left Voice via This RSS Feed.