No Kings events set for 11 Oakland County sites Saturday, billed this time as an early-voting push

The fourth national No Kings day lists events Saturday in Ferndale, Oak Park, Troy, Novi, Waterford, Oxford, Lake Orion and more. Organizers call it nonpartisan; a year ago, the county Republican Party's chairman urged supporters to stay away, citing antifa.

By OCJ Staff

Published Oct. 16, 2026, 1:50 p.m.

Oakland County Journal Decision 2026 election coverage graphic

Groups behind the national "No Kings" protests have scheduled 11 events in Oakland County on Saturday, Oct. 17, according to the official event list that feeds the map on the movement's website.

This is the fourth national No Kings day, after June 14, 2025, Oct. 18, 2025, and March 28, 2026. Organizers are billing this one, "No Kings: Vote Early," as a nonpartisan push to get people to vote before the Nov. 3 election rather than a straight protest. Michigan's statewide early in-person voting period runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 1.

Not every local listing matches that nonpartisan message. Troy's event description says the day is to "support candidates that support democracy," and the Ferndale listing's sample sign ideas include "Be a Vote Avenger Against the Trump Regime." Both listings also carry the national statement that the events are nonpartisan.

Where and when

All of these are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17. Most are sidewalk or street-corner gatherings rather than marches, according to the listings. None gives an expected crowd size.

Community	Location	Time
Ferndale	Woodward Avenue and 9 Mile Road	10 a.m.–noon
Oak Park	10 Mile Road and Coolidge Highway, Parkwoods Plaza (southeast corner)	10 a.m.–noon
Waterford Township	4200 Highland Road (M-59)	10 a.m.–noon
Milford	Milford Public Library, 330 Family Drive	11 a.m.–2 p.m.
Lathrup Village	Outside City Hall, Southfield Road	See note below
Troy	Gateway Park, 3044 Rochester Road	11:30 a.m.–2 p.m.
Rose Township	Milford Road and Davisburg Road	Noon–6 p.m.
Rochester Hills	Rochester Road and Auburn Road	1–3 p.m.
Oxford	Centennial Park, 41 S. Washington St., and downtown sidewalks	1–3 p.m.
Novi	Grand River Avenue and Novi Road	1–3 p.m.
Lake Orion	M-24 and West Flint Street, along M-24	4–6 p.m.

A few details from the listings:

Ferndale: The event has a superhero theme, voter-registration tables and a "car rally" circling the rally route.
Oak Park: Hosted by Concerned Citizens of Oak Park Area, with music, speakers, food and children's activities.
Waterford: Hosted by Michigan Resistance Indivisible.
Milford: Indivisible Huron Valley is holding a canvassing, texting and postcard session, not a rally.
Rose Township: An all-day drop-in on voting early in rural townships.
Novi: Organizers ask participants to leave business parking open.
Lathrup Village: The listing's time slot says 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., but its description says 1 to 2 p.m. Check before going.
Rochester Hills: A separate listing for Stand Up Indivisible Rochester's weekly corner protest says it will be "in full No Kings mode" Saturday, 1 to 3 p.m. It appears to be the same event.

Just outside the county, events are listed at Six Mile and Haggerty near Northville, at Five Mile and Farmington in Livonia, and in Fenton.

The Journal found no announced road closures, police traffic plans or counter-protests for Saturday's events.

What organizers say

At a news conference Tuesday, Michigan organizers said candidates would not appear at the events, though elected officials might attend in an official capacity, the Michigan Advance reported.

"We're still marching, but this time, we're marching to the polls," said Emily Busch of the Michigan Freedom Coalition, whose son was inside Oxford High School during the 2021 shooting.

Each of the Oakland County listings includes the national statement that "a core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action" and that weapons, "including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events."

The national coalition behind the day includes Indivisible, MoveOn, the ACLU, the American Federation of Teachers, 50501 and Public Citizen, according to its Sept. 8 announcement.

A year ago: county GOP chairman urged supporters to stay away

Around the October 2025 No Kings day, Republican leaders from the Oakland County party up to the U.S. House speaker and the president criticized the rallies.

Oakland County Republican Party Chairman Vance Patrick said in a statement released Oct. 16, 2025, that although some activists wanted to hold peaceful counter-demonstrations, the party's official recommendation was that supporters "do not attend or engage with the No Kings events," WILX-TV reported. He cited safety concerns over "violent rhetoric coming from domestic terrorist organization Antifa and their allies," according to the station.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called the No Kings rally planned for Oct. 18 on the National Mall a "Hate America" rally in a Fox News interview, FOX 5 DC reported Oct. 10, 2025. "It's all the pro-Hamas wing and, you know, the ANTIFA people," he said. On Oct. 17, the day before the rallies, he said they would "bring together the Marxists, the socialists, the Antifa advocates, the anarchists," WILX reported. On ABC's "This Week" on Oct. 19, he defended the label, saying, "I've never called anybody an enemy" and "it's not about the people, it's about the message."
U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican, pointed to "numerous radical groups" behind the rallies, naming the Communist Party, the Young Communist League and the Democratic Socialists of America, in a statement to WDIV posted on his congressional website.
U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett of Michigan told WDIV that "people are free to protest peacefully," but said the same few protesters show up at "cookie-cutter rallies that are funded and organized by far-left groups."
President Donald Trump, the day after the rallies, told reporters "I'm not a king." Referring to protesters' signs, he said, "I guess it was paid for by Soros and other radical left lunatics," Fox News reported.

Organizers and Democrats pushed back. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, said the Trump administration and its supporters were "labeling this legal protest an act of terrorism" and urged protesters to stay peaceful, WILX reported. Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, one of the national sponsors, called Johnson's comments a "disgrace" and said, "No one on our side is itching for violence," NewsNation reported.

The Journal found no statements from the Michigan or Oakland County Republican parties about the March 2026 rallies or this weekend's events. WKAR said this week it had reached out to the Michigan Republican Party for comment; its story did not include a response.

This story uses the official No Kings event list on Mobilize and the No Kings coalition, and reporting from the Michigan Advance, Michigan Public/WKAR, FOX 2, WILX, FOX 5 DC, ABC News, WDIV, Fox News and NewsNation.

Sources:

Filed under: Oakland County, No Kings, protests, Election 2026, Ferndale, Troy, Novi, Oak Park, Waterford, Lake Orion, Oxford, Republican Party

Where and when

What organizers say

A year ago: county GOP chairman urged supporters to stay away

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