10-21-2025 1:04pm

Thousands of No Kings protesters take to Bowie streets

Protestors in front of Bowie High School for the No Kings protest on Oct. 18, 2025. Nicole Ramos/The Bowie Sun

BOWIE, Md. - Thousands of people of all ages gathered in front of the Bowie Branch Library for Saturday’s No Kings protest, equipped with signs, music, megaphones and even inflatable costumes.

The line of participants at the honk and wave-style protest stretched to over a quarter of a mile on both sides of Annapolis Road. It was one of three No Kings protests in Bowie, attracting 2,000-2,500 people at the library and 300 at two other protests in the city, according to organizers.

Though the protests were upbeat and lively, attendees were part of a larger movement concerned about authoritarianism.

“This is government of the people, by the people, and for the people, showing itself on the sidewalks,” said Bowie No Kings organizer Liz Enagonio.

The 32-year resident of Bowie is also the co-founder of Indivisible Bowie and Beyond, a chapter of the national organization whose mission is to fight President Donald Trump’s agenda and elect progressive leaders.

Saturday’s protests in Bowie were part of the second mass protest organized by No Kings this year, whose purpose is to promote peaceful mobilization against what some Americans consider to be overreach by the Trump administration. According to No Kings, more than 7 million people participated in 2,700 worldwide events on Saturday, 2 million more than the first day of action in June.

The protest at the Bowie library was a 150 to 200% increase over the same event in June, according to a press release by Indivisible Bowie and Beyond.

Enagonio, 71, and the team of volunteers initially planned for two protests in Bowie that day: a “visibility brigade” on the pedestrian bridge over U.S. Route 50, and the library honk and wave. Organizers quickly put together another protest at the pedestrian bridge over Maryland Route 197 as RSVPs poured in.

Republicans such as House Speaker Mike Johnson have described the No Kings protests as a “hate America rally.” But protesters disagreed.

Volunteer Melissa Cingle, a 48-year-old Odenton resident, said: “It’s just a fellowship and everything that you gain from being able to come together with people who are like-minded, that love our country and love democracy and want to preserve rights and human rights for people.”

Protestors of various backgrounds across the three demonstrations expressed concern about democracy and discussed their own motivations for taking to the streets and bridges.

Harry Jarin is a 36-year-old small business owner and volunteer firefighter from Edgewater, who is challenging Steny Hoyer for the U.S. House of Representatives seat in Maryland's 5th District. Jarin believes Democrats need reenergized leadership to combat Trump’s policies and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, which he compares to fascism. Jarin is also concerned about the number of federal workers and their families negatively impacted by the shutdown in his congressional district.

“I think fascism is definitionally absurd, and it needs to be met by more absurdity in some cases. And so that’s why I’m dressed as a crab,” he said.

Nancy Freeman, 69, doesn’t hide the fact that she was formerly a “lifelong Republican.” MAGA’s influence with Republicans made Freeman realize that the party she spent her teenage years campaigning for no longer represents the values she fights for, such as freedom of speech. Freeman also works with immigrant communities in the county and thinks the path to citizenship for immigrant families should be sped up.

“We need to fight for what we love,” said Freeman, who is retired and lives in Bowie.

Marguerite Morman-Matthews, pictured with husband Dennis Matthews, said Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in D.C reminds her of the turbulent days after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. She recalled as a child watching the National Guard circling D.C. on her way to church and feeling worried. Morman-Matthews wondered what is going through the minds of children today as they watch the military in the city.

“This is not a dictatorship. We live in a democratic society,” said the 63-year-old school counselor from Upper Marlboro.

Charles Riffe, pictured with Katrina Carr, worked for 30 years in the military and 20 years in the federal government. He is bothered and saddened by how leaders characterized protests as anti-American and hate speech.

“You have citizens, you have young people, you have old people like myself out here. We’re fighting for our democracy, fighting for our freedom of speech, we’re fighting for our children’s futures,” said the 64-year-old Bowie resident.