For some passersby in Detroit, the thousands of people who took to the streets on Saturday, March 28, to denounce President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies were a comfort. To others, they were an annoyance or worse.

But across the state, protesters sought to catch their eye and share with each other encouragement and concerns on the third so-called No Kings Day in a year protesting the president.

Crowds gathered in Holland, Adrian, West Bloomfield and Lansing. One sign in Ann Arbor read, “I’m tired of this, Grandpa,” and one in Battle Creek read, “End The War.” In Romulus, politicians rallied against the potential for an immigration detention center to be built there, and in Dearborn, a lawyer once detained by such agents called for the dismantling of their department. In Detroit, a teacher described the empty chairs of detained students, and a mother held up a painting of an explosion taking place in front of a child, symbolic of American military actions.

In a statement released ahead of the protests, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson made little of the efforts.

“The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them,” she said.

Onlookers, politicians and participants weighed in during conversations with the Free Press.

Onlookers

Jackee Oliver, 37, of Detroit, made her way back from her neighborhood store with her mom and 11-year-old daughter sporting stickers that read, “I Stood Up For Democracy Today,” and included a symbol of a crossed-out crown.

They’d been running their errand when they passed through the No Kings gathering about 11 a.m. on the east side of Detroit bordering Grosse Pointe on Mack Avenue between Cadieux and Neff roads. Oliver said she didn’t realize the protest was happening but hoped to come back out to join.

It was “a good thing,” she said, with her mom, Devita Williams, 58, of Ypsilanti, adding her thoughts on the Trump administration: “I’d like to get them all out the White House.”

Community members eyeing the crowd of roughly 200 people who marched through their Southwest Detroit neighborhood west of Clark Park on Saturday afternoon offered differing takes on the matter.

One man, translated by his nephew, said it was good and should be everywhere. Another said the group probably didn’t live in Southwest Detroit. Still others called it awesome or said the group should take their protest elsewhere.

In downtown Detroit, as at least a couple of thousand protesters marched along Woodward Avenue, several people headed to see the band the Black Label Society at The Fillmore said they got stuck in backups because of the march.

Shawn Roy, 49, drove from the Lansing area on his birthday with his son for that concert, he said while stuck behind a police SUV blocking Woodward for the marchers.  

Roy is a Trump supporter but said he didn’t take issue with people using their right to protest. He just didn’t think their tactic was reasonable with so many events in town.

“This wouldn’t sway my mind even if I was on the fence,” he said.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib calls for end of ICE at ‘No Kings’ protest

No Kings protests in Detroit: What rallies looked like

Shortly thereafter, as the marchers started to depart, Milan Anderson-Whitfield, 19, of Northville, strolled up with her teenage little sister to see a group of drummers still playing and learn more. She held a sign she’d been given that read, “Keep your theology off my biology.”

She was tearing up as she spoke to a Free Press reporter, she said.

DETROIT, Michigan: Ken Roczen won the second race of the 2026 season at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, as Hunter Lawrence and Eli Tomac struggled. With this victory, Roczen is firmly in championship contention with a 14-point gap to the leader.

Chase Sexton secured second in his first race back after suffering an injury in a practice crash prior to Daytona. Sexton continued to get stronger during each session as he climbed his way through the ranks.

Malcolm Stewart secured his first podium of the season one week after getting his first top-five in Birmingham.

Justin Cooper stole a point from Tomac in the closing laps, but Tomac’s fifth-place finish along with Lawrence’s problems gave him the championship lead by four.

Tomac had to fight hard to stay in the top five as Cooper Webb challenged on the white flag lap. Webb crossed under the checkered flag in sixth.

450 Feature Results

In-Race Notes

Jorge Prado has been hot on the gate drop and he earned another holeshot in Detroit.

Meanwhile, Lawrence and Tomac both got poor starts and had to come through the field together.

Roczen stole the lead from Prado on Lap 2, bringing Webb with him.

Webb crashed with Prado and handed second to Sexton.

Incredibly, Lawrence was up to third on Lap 3; Tomac was fifth and gradually losing contact with the points leader. Tomac cannot afford to lose any more ground to Lawrence.

Stewart was the man in the middle of the two points challengers.

Webb settled into eighth. Prado fell to 14th.

Tomac was five seconds behind Lawrence at the halfway mark.

Dylan Ferrandis was in seventh on Lap 7. He was also returning from injury along with Sexton this week.

Lawrence crashed on Lap 10, hurting his bike in the crash. Lawrence had a 12-point lead at the time. Lawrence had not finished worse than fourth all year and was second or better in all but two races.

With the incident, Tomac moved up to fourth in the running. Lawrence was 19th at the time. This would give Tomac the points lead.

Lawrence had to pull into the mechanics area to replace his front wheel.

Roczen was in command of the race on Lap 15.

Tomac didn’t have the pace to fully take advantage of Lawrence’s crash and lost fourth to Cooper on Lap 18.

Roczen finished 7.8 seconds ahead of Sexton.

To the surprise of many of their critics, the Detroit Pistons have fared well since Cade Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung.

With his timetable still uncertain as the regular season enters the final stretch, the Pistons have taken the adversity head-on and have gone 4-1 in the games without Cunningham.

The Pistons’ lone loss came in a 130-129 overtime thriller against the Atlanta Hawks, in which Jalen Duren’s put-back shot in the final seconds came up an inch short.

During Cunningham’s absence, these three Pistons players have stepped up in a major way for Detroit, as they look to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since the 2006-07 season. 

Jalen Duren

A candidate for the NBA’s Most Improved Player of the Year, Jalen Duren, has put together an extraordinary season for the Pistons. In addition to averaging 19.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game for the Pistons, Duren has shown true leadership during Cunningham’s absence. 

In the five games that Cunningham has been absent, Duren has scored 20-plus points in every matchup, including recording four double-doubles. If Cunningham is to return for the Pistons in the postseason, Duren will also play a crucial role in leading Detroit to a deep playoff run.  

Daniss Jenkins

Over the last five games, the Pistons have seen the emergence of guard Daniss Jenkins. What started with an impressive performance in the Pistons’ win over the Golden State Warriors was immediately followed by Jenkins scoring a career-high 30 points in Detroit’s thrilling 113-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night. 

The emergence of Daniss Jenkins has been one of the top storylines for the Pistons this season, as last year, Jenkins was averaging only 1.0 points per game in only seven games played. Now, with the Pistons preparing for the postseason with the possibility of not having Cunningham, Jenkins could be an unsung hero for Detroit in the postseason.  

Tobias Harris

The Pistons’ third-leading scorer, Tobias Harris, has also played a key role for Detroit without Cunningham. In the games that Harris has been absent from the Pistons, Harris has scored in double figures in four of those contests. 

In the Pistons’ comeback that fell short against the Hawks in overtime, Harris played a critical role in leading Detroit to force overtime, as he finished the game with 22 points, three rebounds, and three assists, while shooting over 52.9 percent from the field. 

Entering the postseason, Harris’ performance could be a key x-factor in the Pistons’ chances of making a deep playoff run. In the Pistons’ first-round playoff series loss against the New York Knicks last season, Harris averaged 15.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.