Updated at 11:41 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
In one of the largest demonstrations since the social justice protests of 2020 following the death of George Floyd, thousands of protesters gathered at sites across Colorado Saturday to speak out against the Trump administration and its policies.
At more than a dozen locations across the state, people raised signs, chanted and marched. They gathered in parks, lined overpasses and roadways, and even appeared in ones and twos on scattered street corners.
According to observations by CPR News and reports from police, the demonstrations were peaceful throughout the day Saturday. In the evening, one group of a couple of hundred protesters in Denver was repelled by police using pepper balls and gas canisters after attempting to march onto I-25.
Rallies took place Saturday from Grand Junction to Colorado Springs, Denver to Durango and many places between.
In Grand Junction Saturday morning, hundreds gathered peacefully, snarling traffic.
In Colorado Springs, a speaker urged the large crowd to remain peaceful and stay out of the street.
In Parker, people held signs up and lined the roads as cars drove past.
In Genesee, people stood on a bridge over I-70 and held signs up for cars passing to see.
See details, photos and a timeline below.
Denver
In Denver, police shut down Lincoln Street at the Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park next to the Colorado State Capitol, so protesters could spill out into the street.
Marchers also walked on roads around downtown Denver, including Speer Boulevard and Colfax Avenue, among others.
Adam Young came from Golden to march. Dressed as Uncle Sam and holding an upside-down American flag, he traveled with the crowd along 17th Street in downtown Denver.
“This is America. You can’t treat America this way,” Young said of Trump’s policies.
The so-called “No Kings” rallies were designed as a catch-all for people to protest a wide range of policies from the Trump administration, from immigration enforcement actions to attacks on free speech and LGBTQ rights.
The Denver demonstration featured booths along Veterans Park, urging people to get involved both in their communities and politically.
The protest brought together a broad spectrum of liberal political activism. While the main peg of the protest was against Trump, many people were protesting ICE, celebrating Pride Month, protesting for Palestinians and standing in solidarity with the demonstrators in Los Angeles.
The demonstrations are part of a national call for protests against the Trump administration. About 2,000 cities planed to hold marches Saturday, President Donald Trump’s birthday, which is also the same day as held a military parade in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Army.
Earlier this week, protesters demonstrated at the State Capitol to protest immigration enforcement actions. Those protests were largely peaceful, with a handful of arrests in Denver after police used pepper balls and smoke canisters to disperse protesters near Broadway and I-25. Denver Police reported early Wednesday that there were 17 arrests out of those protests.
Throughout Saturday afternoon, no clashes between demonstrators and police were observed or reported at protests across the state. In the evening, a smaller group of marchers near Colfax and I-25 was pushed back by riot police using pepper balls and smoke.
Saturday’s demonstration in Denver was put on by the Colorado 50501 Chapter, the Party for Social Liberalism, Women’s Strike and Raise Her Voice, Solidarity Warriors, Denver Indivisible Action, Show Up for Good and Notes of Dissent.
Denver timeline
The Denver march began at 12:19 p.m. down Lincoln, starting out in front of the state’s Capitol. It quickly spilled out onto adjoining streets across downtown.
According to Denver Police, five different groups marched near the State Capitol as well as in and around the downtown area. Police called those marches peaceful. CPR News observed protesters marching peacefully and police monitoring at a distance, mainly blocking traffic to allow safe passage for the demonstrators.
By 3 p.m., streets around downtown were flooded with marchers. One group stopped at the intersection of 14th and Broadway.
At 3:25 p.m., Denver Police posted on social media that people should expect rolling road closures downtown due to the demonstration.
Police were also blocking pedestrian access to several areas, including from downtown northwest across Speer Boulevard to near I-25.
By 6:30 p.m., rolling road closures in downtown were still being reported by Denver police. A smaller group of protesters marched up and down Broadway and 20th Street near LoDo.
Denver Police say only one person was arrested during the day's marches, an adult male for obstruction of streets near Speer Boulevard and Wewatta Street.
At 6:30 p.m. a sixth group of marchers broke away from the other demonstrations and headed west down Colfax.
At 6:40 p.m., Denver Police warned the marchers near Colfax Avenue and 7th Street that the marchers were being denied access to march on I-25. The police warned protesters that "all reasonable force will be utilized, including chemical munitions, to deny this access. Please turn and march away from the highway."
Around 6:50 p.m., Denver police fired pepper balls at the crowd gathered at the start of the Colfax viaduct an attempt to disperse them. The couple of hundred marchers attempted to access the interstate.
"It was a peaceful demonstration and then there was a roadblock. It's kind of unfolded in a chaotic way," said Lexi Leman, who was hit by a pepper ball in the knee. "I've never seen anything unfold quite like this. The cops showing up in this way with riot gear just antagonizes them and makes people angry and makes people scared."
At about 7:30 p.m., police in riot gear attempted to push those protesters back downtown using pepper balls and smoke canisters, both nonlethal but painful munitions. Reporters and protesters described the munitions as painful and "debilitating" for their eyes and lungs.
Denver Police tells CPR News tear gas was not used. DPD said they arrested five people during this episode.
This group of protesters moved away from the police line, chanting "walk, don't run." They walked back and turned onto Speer Boulevard at about 7:45 p.m.
By 8:30 p.m., different groups of marchers could still be heard and seen moving around downtown Denver peacefully.
At 9:30 p.m., according to Denver Police, there was a second incident involving a small group of protesters attempting to access the interstate occurred, resulting in police using pepper balls and smoke to disperse the group. And at about 10 p.m., a person started a small fire in the street in the street on Lincoln just south of the capitol, according to police. The fire burned out. There were no reports of injuries, and police dispersed the group.
At about 10 p.m., a group of about a dozen people could be seen running north on Broadway knocking over scooters and construction signs. A large police force followed them, including swat and armored vehicles.
As of 10:48 p.m. Saturday night, Denver Police said they had made 17 total protest-related arrests on charges including from resisting arrest, obstruction of streets, failure to obey a lawful order, and unlawful throwing of projectiles. A large police presence could be seen at the capitol and around downtown.
CPR News pulled its reporters off the street around 11 p.m.
Grand Junction
Grand Junction’s protest brought out close to 1,000 people, according to the Grand Junction Police Department. While they are investigating one possible instance of harassment, the department said the demonstration was largely peaceful, with people chanting and waving homemade signs near an I-70 overpass as cars and trucks honked, rolling past.
Though some of the traffic was part of an organized counter protest, with vehicles sporting American, Trump and Confederate flags, the vast majority of the drivers waved or gave a thumbs up to demonstrators.
Betty Tanksley, 81, came with her granddaughters, one of them pushing her wheelchair.
“I have never been this afraid for the country. This is the worst it's ever been,” Tanksley said.
She said she opposes how Trump is running the country and his support of the Israeli government.
“We are all one human race,” she said. “Let's act human.”
Surrounding her, people held up signs supporting veterans, immigrants and Medicare.
Greg, who didn’t want to give his last name for safety reasons, held up a sign reading “I can’t afford a private yacht, but public land is all I’ve got.”
“I know plenty of park rangers and they’re not corrupt. They’re the hardest-working people you could meet,” he said. “They get paid in sunsets.”
Greg worries how cuts will affect public lands, with even well-known national parks and monuments functioning with few resources and skeleton crews.
“What’s happening to the National Park Service right now is going to decimate the park service for decades,” he said. “I’m making sure that public lands stay in public hands.”
While Grand Junction voted for Trump three times, the city has seen regular protests since the 2024 election. Saturday’s demonstration was by far the largest.
Colorado Springs
Thousands of people filled downtown Colorado Springs and vehicles passing by honked in support of protesters.
People held signs on sidewalks and in medians near the intersection of Nevada and Platte avenues.
Jodi, a singer-songwriter also known as Omitolarising, said they came out to the protest because it is about freedom.
"If we don't come back to love, I fear that we won't do anything but destroy ourselves," Omitolarising said.
Nearby, people chanted, "What do we do? Stand up, fight back."
John Hawk is a 76-year-old retired teacher who has lived in Colorado Springs since 1974.
“I’m out today not only for myself but for our whole public — for the country,” Hawk said. “I believe in the Constitution. I believe in rights for all ... We the people means all the people, not just a few select people.”
Navy veteran Roger Stroklund said he was protesting because took an oath to support and defend the Constitution.
“And it’s about time the president actually realizes that’s his job, is to execute the laws set forth in the Constitution, written by the legislature, interpreted by the courts,” Strokland said. “And he is not doing that. He’s trying to be a dictator. We need to get rid of him.”
Parker
In Parker, on Saturday morning, Debbie Burke said she was protesting because voting was not enough.
“We've got to get our voices out there as loud as we can, in the biggest numbers we can find to show people that the Trump administration is not representing the country as a whole,” Burke said.
“I think the country is too divided and needs to be put together,” said Larry Dobkin in Parker. “Politicians are too tied up in whether they're Republican or Democrat and not so much interested in doing the job for the people.”
Editor's note: This story is based on eyewitness accounts from reporters unless stated and attributed.
Update: CPR News pulled all its reporters off the streets at around 11 p.m. MT.
CPR’s Haylee May, Stina Sieg, Allison Sherry, Andrew Villegas, and Alejandro A. Alonso Galva contributed to this report.
