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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — On South Washington Street, 26-year-old environmental engineer Nayely Cruz Hernandez had a straightforward message for voters as she joined a phalanx of protesters lining the street for nationwide “No Kings” protests against President Donald Trump: “Vote blue.”
“We got to take the power away from Trump, from the Republicans,” Hernandez told Digital. “So we got to win the House, we got to win the Senate, not only in Virginia, but across the country.”
Standing beside her boyfriend, Noah Schwarzott, 25, their 13-year-old Maltese-poodle, Maybellene, in her arms, Hernandez acknowledged that national No Kings organizers had their own rules for the protests to be “nonpartisan,” but she wasn’t following orders.
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Demonstrators rally in Alexandria, Va, as part of the nationwide “No Kings” protest on Oct. 17, 2026. (Asra Q. Nomani/ Digital)
“The No King … organizers can say whatever,” she said. “But I’m saying vote blue, because why are we here? Who’s in the House? Who’s in the Senate? Who is the President? It’s red, it’s Republicans, and it’s Trump.”
A Digital investigation documented about 300 organizations with $2.5 billion in combined annual revenues behind the “No Kings” protest network, including Democratic-aligned advocacy groups, major labor unions and nonprofits including MoveOn, the American Federation of Teachers and the ACLU.
Cruz Hernandez ended by introducing Maybellene and declaring that the dog was “telling you to vote for Don Beyer,” a Democratic member of Congress who represents Alexandria, Arlington and other Northern Virginia communities.
The national organizers’ position is that the Oct. 17 events must be “nonpartisan.” That’s to comply with the federal laws that regulate the nonprofits that fund the No Kings protests.
Crowds gather in Alexandria, Va., for the “No Kings” protest. (Asra Q. Nomani/ Digital)
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Her comments directly contradicted the written instructions of the national “No Kings” organization and its leaders at the Indivisible nonprofit, prohibiting calls to “vote Blue,” elect Democrats or endorse candidates and target individuals.
Nearby, a man held a sign by a far-left group called “Refuse Fascism” with another message defying the organizers’ guidance: “TRUMP MUST GO NOW!” Another man held an inflatable balloon mocking Trump as a baby in a diaper. Another sign said “86 47,” the controversial message former FBI Director James Comey posted on social media and which federal prosecutors deemed an overt threat against Trump.
As the young couple cheered honking cars, Eunic Epstein-Ortiz, national spokesperson for No Kings, called Digital to insist “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.”
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Told that a DIgital investigation found “No Kings” events from Maine to Oregon were clearly partisan, 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.”
But, in this case, the protest on South Washington Street was an official “No Kings” event, advertised on the organizers’ official website.
“No Kings” organizers provide a list of “Do” and “Don’t warnings for their Oct. 17, 2025, voter event. (No Kings)
Among the demonstrators, one woman beamed while waving a sign that was explicit about the protest’s agenda: “THE USA Needs a Big Beautiful BLUE WAVE.”
But hours after the Alexandria demonstration, Digital encountered another protester marching on H Street NW by the White House who openly rejected the nonpartisan description. She marched at an official “No Kings” event.
Nadine Seiler, a self-described “professional protester” recently mentioned by Trump, was asked whether she agreed with organizers’ insistence that the demonstration was nonpartisan.
“No, no, the people who agree with Trump are not out here,” Seiler responded from behind an inflatable costume. “So it’s never gonna be non-partisan if it’s a resistance to the fascist regime.”
“They can pretend, but it’s not,” she added.
“No Kings” organizers provide a list of “Event Prohibitions” for their Oct. 17, 2025, voter event. (No Kings)
Asked directly whether the event was partisan, Seiler answered: “Yes, this is a partisan protest.”
She explained that participants were resisting what she described as illegal policies of the Trump administration.
“Yeah, so this is as partisan as you can get,” she concluded.
The exchanges offer a ground-level perspective on the political character of a movement whose organizers have gone to considerable lengths to insist its voter-mobilization activities are “nonpartisan.”
A crowd participates in the “No Kings” rally in Alexandria, Va. (Asra Q. Nomani/ Digital)
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“No Kings” has distributed detailed election-law guidance prohibiting partisan slogans, campaign materials, candidate endorsements and coordination with political parties.
Yet the movement’s own leadership has openly discussed its broader Democratic electoral objectives.
During an Oct. 15 livestream, Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin contrasted the parties’ candidates.
Protesters hold signs during the “No Kings” demonstration in Alexandria, Va. (Asra Q. Nomani/ Digital)
“Our candidates are quite good all around the country. Their candidates are quite trash all over the country,” Levin said.
In an Oct. 9 webinar, Levin explained how activists could criticize Trump while avoiding explicit Democratic endorsements.
“Uh, you’ve got to let people connect the dots on that one,” he said.
Indivisible co-founder Leah Greenberg, meanwhile, described No Kings as a “nonpartisan coalition” intended to welcome participants across the political spectrum.
Demonstrators rally in Alexandria, Va., as part of the nationwide “No Kings” protest. (Asra Q. Nomani/ Digital)
The distinction matters legally. Individual protesters expressing partisan opinions don’t automatically establish that event organizers violated election law. Tax-exempt charities also face restrictions different from those governing political advocacy groups. In yet another sign, a protester again targeted Trump, writing, “EVERY DAY I HATE HIM MORE THAN I DID THE DAY BEFORE.” Another sign read: “NO CROWN FOR THE CLOWN.”
From northern Virginia to the White House, participants were making no effort to conceal their political preferences.
For Seiler, the description was simple: “This is as partisan as you can get.”
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Digital’s Reagan Schroeder and Tessa Hoyos contributed to this report.
