Inside Wandering Leaf Brewing Company, Bob and Sue Katula are hunched over a table clutching black and yellow markers.
They’ve already mapped out designs on a white posterboard and have some of the sketches colored in. The front of the sign says “No Faux-King Way!!!”
“I wanted to be a little naughty,” Bob said. “I’m just kind of taking a jab, to show that we're standing up for something and that we're not going to take it.”
He’ll carry it to the state Capitol on Saturday for what will be the latest in a series of No Kings rallies since President Donald Trump took office. Past events in Minnesota have drawn big crowds.
This one could top those. Organizers expect tens of thousands of people to flood the Capitol grounds. It has been designated the flagship No Kings rally of all those held around the country. Actress Jane Fonda, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and musician Maggie Rogers are due in town. So is Bruce Springsteen to perform his "Streets of Minneapolis" anthem that he wrote as stand against the Trump administration's massive immigration operation here.
The No Kings protests began last June as a series of demonstrations across the country opposing actions by the Trump administration that critics of the president see as authoritarian.
The Katula couple started going to the protests after the Department of Government Efficiency under billionaire Elon Musk laid off thousands of federal workers last year.
“That was the first time you felt like you were kind of losing control. Everybody was getting together to say this is not the way it should be, right? And who knew that it was going to get 10 times worse,” Bob said.
“We're just fed up with what's been happening with our country, with our leadership,” Sue added. “I’ll be thinking about us, thinking about our kids, their kids.”
Others at the St. Paul brewery were also busy making signs for the No Kings rally. Some signs skirted sensitive boundaries, accusing the president of crimes and other abuses of power.
The exercise is one of fellowship among people with similar political goals. But it’s also aimed at creating something enduring: That pithy saying or catchy design can go viral online and create an imprint that extends beyond just one rally.
Katie Larson still had a blank posterboard in front of her, but had a lot of ideas for what would be her buzzy phrase. For the past few months, she’s kept a running list in her phone of quotes and lyrics that could go on her next protest sign.
She started going to several protests in the last year, mostly in support of women’s rights and immigrants who have been targeted by ICE. For her sign, Larson decided on a lyric by indie artist Miss Giggles, who has an album titled “Trump.”
“The line goes ‘America, the beautiful where killing is constitutional, schools are just like funerals and leaders are delusional,’” she said. “And that one's just kind of hit home for me pretty strongly.”
In the background of that phrase, she planned to draw funeral homes and schools to signify the lives that have been lost during ICE operations and the fear that lingers in schools because of recent mass shootings.
“I mean a lot of women, we’re scared that we're losing our rights,” she said. “And then also just having friends of color that have to deal with more adversity and more issues than they already have to deal with every day. So I can't sit down and just sit on my couch and not do anything.”
Larson is looking forward to the No Kings rally. She hopes people remember that they’re not alone in making their voice heard and their messages seen.