South Carolina’s “No Kings” protest left the Statehouse lawn for the first time since anti-Trump protests began in February. 

Residents from across South Carolina gathered on Saturday at the state capitol to make Oct. 18 the largest protest yet of the Donald Trump administration. 

And though they marched together to the Governor’s Mansion after a rally, people attended the event for many different reasons.

Joel Collins, a professor at the USC honors college, said his loyalty lies with the American constitution, a document he has studied for more than 60 years. 

“Look where we were in 1775 and 1776,” Collins said. “People risked their lives. It was treason to be against the king. You could be tried, convicted, hanged for treason. They were brave enough to stand up and protest, and it led to us being an independent nation, the greatest nation that’s ever been free.”

Collins taught the U.S. Constitution at West Point, the Army’s military academy, for 16 years before moving to Columbia. Collins at 82 now feels the historical document has been ignored. 

“The First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press,” Collins said after referencing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s decision to ban the press from reporting news not pre-approved by the Pentagon.

“And when the people on TV were talking about it, they were talking about it being an American tradition,” he said. “And I said, ‘Wait a minute, it’s the Constitution!’” Collins said. 

Other attendees were focused on international affairs, with a lot of attention being directed toward the rebuilding of Gaza and the sought-after ceasefire in the Middle East. 

Saturday’s event was the second affiliated with the national 50501 protests. But South Carolina has seen others in recent months.

David Matos, president of Columbia’s Carolina Peace Resource Center, said he has been at the Statehouse almost every Saturday.

“We’ve been out here protesting because so many people have been killed, innocent people, civilians who have been killed in Gaza,” Matos said of the Mideast war that started before Trump’s presidency. “I’m utterly opposed that being done with our taxpayer money.”

USC student Miles Stice marched with the crowd down Main Street, holding a sign that said, “We are better united.” 

“Human rights are not subjected to anybody’s legislation, so Republicans and Democrats both need to be protesting Donald Trump because he goes against both of those,” Stice said. 

A group of counter protesters across from the Statehouse also exercised their First Amendment rights. 

Columbia resident Rick Fogle was among them. He said he didn’t agree with the purpose for “No Kings Day.” But he said he supports the rally-goers’ freedom to protest. 

“As long as it’s peaceful, I’m all for that,” Fogle said. “I hope they have a good time, too.” 

Fogle said his objective was to show the world that “there are still regular people.”

“People that don’t dress up in costumes,” Fogle said. “I see an alien, I see frogs, all kinds of weird stuff.”

The inflatable animal suits were influenced by Portland, Oregon, protests, where attendees wanted to show the public they were peaceful.

Steven Berning wore a Care Bear inflatable and was one of the first to arrive at the Statehouse on Saturday morning. 

“The humor was just my style,” Berning said. “And I thought it’s less threatening and completely hilarious.”

Other attendants didn’t dress in a particular way. But it was clear South Carolinians from all backgrounds were present. 

Grade school students joined adults such as Collins and the costumed protesters. 

Ella Matson and her father drove from Greenville that morning. At just 14, Matson had been to several protests before but has never spoken to reporters about why. 

“Politics has really separated us,” Matson said. “I believe that if we could come together, it could be peaceful again.”

Matson is not the only one who is tired of the divide. 

Sanela Suhopoljac,  a Carolina Peace Resource Center advocate, said the world is actually becoming less separated. 

“I think people are more united now than they have been,” she said. “Even just now, look at all these people. The diversity between everybody. Not everybody’s here for the same thing, but everybody’s coming out and supporting.”

Protesters said the community is one of the best things to come out of the past year. 

One state government worker who was reluctant to give her name out of fear of retaliation, described the Statehouse crowd as “supportive, funny, smart, so smart and kind.”

“They don’t just, you know, come out to do this,” she said. “They are also involved in food kitchens, book drives, clothing drives, anti-violence shelters, you name it.”

Suhopoljac couldn’t agree more.

“You just come in here, and you know everyone’s got a good heart,” Suhopoljac said. “People are here for the right reasons. People are asking questions. People want to know. People are educating themselves and not just staying blind.”

The protesters headed to the Governor’s Mansion late in the afternoon and, later, still waved signs and chanted as they walked to their parked cars. 

“People don’t want to sit by and watch their world burn,” Suhopoljac said with a sign of her own tucked under her arm.