As President Donald Trump hosts a UFC event at the White House to mark America’s 250th anniversary, a coalition of approximately 400 organizations has organized a coordinated nationwide response featuring concerts, protests, and community gatherings across the country. The “No Kings” coalition, representing groups with combined annual revenues estimated at $3 billion, has deployed a multi-city operation designed to build long-term political infrastructure ahead of the midterm elections. The centerpiece is an 88-year-old actress-led concert in New York City, accompanied by hundreds of local watch parties and direct-action protests near the nation’s capital.
Internal planning documents reveal that organizers view June 14 not merely as a day of demonstration but as a launching pad for sustained grassroots organizing. The materials describe watch parties as “strategic community gatherings designed to build deep local connections and lay the grassroots infrastructure we need to defend our rights through the midterm elections and beyond.” Coordinators are instructed to collect attendee contact information, identify potential future organizers, and schedule follow-up meetings within two weeks of the event.
Jane Fonda headlines New York concert with celebrity lineup
The headline event, “Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment,” takes place at The Town Hall theater on 43rd Street in Manhattan beginning at 7:30 p.m. Jane Fonda’s Committee for the First Amendment, formed in October 2025 with approximately 500 entertainment industry figures, organized the 90-minute concert. The group invokes the name of a 1947 Hollywood committee that opposed Senator Joe McCarthy’s investigations, though some original members were later identified as communists. Actor Humphrey Bogart, an original member, eventually published a column titled “I’m No Communist,” warning fellow celebrities against being “used as dupes by Commie organizations.”
Joining Fonda on stage are punk icon Patti Smith, actress Bette Midler, singer Rufus Wainwright, vocalist Sasha Allen, former MSNBC host Joy Reid, and actor Wilson Cruz. Tickets in the orchestra section sold for $330.15 over the weekend. Organizers describe the event as “an uplifting evening of song, solidarity, and action” celebrating freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and protest. The concert serves as the public face of a broader organizing apparatus designed to funnel participants into ongoing political action.
Direct-action protests target White House vicinity
Multiple protest actions are scheduled in Washington throughout the afternoon and evening. At 4 p.m., Refuse Fascism, a group that identifies as pro-communism, plans its “RAGE AGAINST THE CAGE!” demonstration at McPherson Square near the White House. The Women’s March nonprofit has rented portable toilets for installation at Farragut Square, blocks from the executive mansion, for a demonstration called “Dump on Trump” running from noon to 6 p.m.
UFC fighter Sean Strickland announced via social media that he booked travel to protest at the White House after allegedly being cut from the main event for criticizing Israel and the conflict in Iran. “I’ll bring a bullhorn,” he wrote in his post. The convergence of multiple protest groups in the capital’s core creates a counter-narrative to the administration’s celebratory programming.
Planning documents outline reimbursement program and organizing infrastructure
A 16-page “No Kings Event Host Toolkit” provides detailed instructions for local organizers nationwide. The guidance directs hosts to recruit co-hosts, appoint greeters and safety leads, collect participant contact details, and identify individuals who might assist with future organizing efforts. Before attendees leave, coordinators are told to establish “a clearly defined plan” and schedule another organizing meeting within 14 days.
The coalition operates a reimbursement program administered through Indivisible Civics, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Participating groups may receive up to $500 for watch party expenses. The guidance explicitly states that events “cannot include lobbying or partisan political activity” and cannot be “co-hosted with any political party or partisan organization.” Events also cannot “feature candidates running for elected office.” The materials specify that the program “cannot reimburse expenses from political rallies or protests” or events hosted to prepare for such activities.
Despite these restrictions, previous “No Kings” rallies have featured Democratic politicians prominently. At a recent event in St. Paul, Minnesota, organizers including Fonda openly embraced Representative Ilhan Omar, with no Republican lawmakers present at the gathering.
Coalition messaging frames events as democracy-building alternative
Messaging guidance prepared for supporters casts the June 14 activities as direct counterprogramming to the White House UFC event. One prepared statement reads: “On June 14, President Trump hosts a UFC cage fight at the White House. The main event will be in our living rooms.” Another suggested message states: “He wants attention. We’re building a movement.” The materials emphasize that “the lead-up to America’s 250th is a test of who we are” and position the coalition’s approach as choosing “community, participation and people power” over “self-promotion.”
Organizers stress strict adherence to nonviolence. Host guides include a mandatory “NONVIOLENCE CLAUSE” with explicit warnings: “DO NOT DELETE THE NONVIOLENCE CLAUSE. Your event will not be approved without this language.” This legal and tactical discipline appears designed to maintain the coalition’s public legitimacy while building organizational capacity for longer-term political engagement.
Leadership network includes figures tied to congressional inquiries
The campaign’s organizational structure overlaps with individuals and groups that have been subjects of congressional investigation. Documents released by the House Ways and Means Committee show that attorney Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund in Washington, represents the People’s Forum, a nonprofit that has received millions of dollars from Neville Roy Singham, an American businessman and self-described Marxist living in Shanghai who supports the Chinese Communist Party. According to her official biography, Verheyden-Hilliard also serves on the steering committee of Fonda’s Committee for the First Amendment. She has not responded to requests for comment.
Professional communications support for the operation comes from Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis, a prominent New York public relations firm known as SSM&L. The organization created many planning documents for the New York City concert, with its name appearing in the metadata of several files. The PR company did not respond to requests for comment. This infrastructure suggests a well-funded, professionally managed operation with connections to established progressive advocacy networks.
