A coalition of Queen Creek and San Tan Valley residents will join thousands of groups across the country in holding a No Kings National Day of Nonviolent Action rally on Saturday.
Dubbed “No Kings 3,” the rally will run 9 a.m.-noon, March 28, at the four corners of Gantzel and Combs roads extending north, south, east and west. One of the corners is in Queen Creek in Pinal County and the rest are in San Tan Valley.
The rally is hosted by Queen Creek San Tan Valley Indivisible, a group that “embraces progressive values,” according to its website.
“It’s exhausting, but it’s rewarding. My daughter is pregnant with my 10th grandchild. I have five granddaughters and five grandsons. I’m doing this for them,” said Karen Oliver, one of the directors of Queen Creek San Tan Valley Indivisible.
When word went out about the first No Kings march on June 14, 2025, Oliver set about finding an event in the Queen Creek area that she could attend.
“There wasn’t one. The closest one was like Chandler or Mesa and Gilbert, and so I clicked the little yellow button (on the No Kings website) that said host an event,” Olive said. “I expected 10 people and we got 200.”
When Oliver held her second event on Oct. 18, she said attendance had swelled to more than 800. She also has a core group that protests 7-8:30 p.m. at the same corners every Tuesday.
Now a bit more media savvy and under the Queen Creek San Tan Valley Indivisible banner, Oliver expects another large turnout.
“This one, I don’t know how many people are going to be there. We have 230 people registered, but that doesn’t seem to be an indication of how many will show up,” she said. “I think a lot of people are afraid to register and have their names out there and would rather just show up.”
Oliver said there were no serious incidents during the first two rallies outside of insults from people driving by and a glass bottle being thrown at an attendee from a moving car. There were no injuries.
Oliver said she tells people at the events she has hosted to remain peaceful.
“I don’t want my people to break the law. I want my people to stay on the sidewalks, and I don’t want any incidents,” she said. “This is a peaceful protest. We’re not doing any civil disobedience, and we advertise no weapons. Please do not bring your weapons.”
Along with protesting the policies of the Trump Administration, Saturday’s event will collect donations for the Mary Gloria Foundation, a nonprofit that provides essentials to families in need throughout Queen Creek and San Tan Valley.
According to organizers of the various No Kings marches nationwide, about 5 million people participated in the first protest, with an estimated 7 million in October.
Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org. Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
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