CHARLOTTESVILLE (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — Thousands descended all along Seminole Trail for Charlottesville’s local “No Kings” rally, one of about 2,500 such protests happening nationally Saturday, just four months after the first round in June.

Saturday’s event, like the first, aimed to protest the actions of the Trump Administration, with Indivisible Charlottesville again organizing the local version. Indivisible’s Dan Doernberg told Cville Right Now the second protest had drawn at least 10,000 people, a major increase from the 6,800 estimated to have shown up at the first.

“I think people realize even more than four months ago, that this isn’t about Democrats, Republicans, or little political disagreements,” he said of the increase. “We’re in a national emergency. Trump wants to be a king. He wants to be a dictator, and he is grabbing as much power as he can that’s totally outside the American system.”

The protest, which was advertised to be located at the Stonefield Shopping Center, stretched all along Seminole Trail, with Doernberg saying the protest went all the way down to the Costco half-a-mile down the road. Protesters brought signs, flags and some even wore costumes. Dink Jardine, who dressed in shark suits along with a family member, said they were inspired by protesters in Portland wearing similar costumes during demonstrations against National Guard troops deployed there.

Jardine had come to Charlottesville for UVA’s football game against Washington later in the evening, but decided to show up to the protest beforehand. She had previously attended a No Kings protest in Richmond in June.

“I thought, ‘You know, we’re not going to miss a No Kings protest,'” she said. “because we’ll we’ll watch the game, but we also need to step up.”

Other protesters were locals who had been at the June event, like Kaki Pearson, who said she had a next-door neighbor who was involved in Indivisible.

“It reminds me back in my day in the ’70s when we did a lot of protesting,” she said. “I think it shows not only where your heart is, but it gets other people to recognize that ‘Maybe I have some questions about what I’m thinking,’ and that’s what we all need to have is questions, and discuss and figure out where we all are coming from.”

Liz Damhus was also at the June protest, and said she wouldn’t be surprised if the second protest was “twice as big.” She said Saturday’s event felt like it had more people, but also more energy and a lot of joy. She said being at the protest with other people who disagreed with the direction the Trump Administration was taking was empowering.

“We’re just not looking at a screen and being disgruntled,” she said. “We are here together saying, ‘No, this is not okay.'”

Protesters came to the event for a variety of reason, many being personal. Brothers Gabirel and Andrew Nafziger attended Saturday’s protest together. Gabriel said he works in research while Andrew, who moved to Charlottesville from Portland earlier in the year, had worked previously worked at a food pantry. Both said their occupations had been impacted by the Trump Administration.

They said seeing the turnout, and especially hearing the supportive honks of cars driving by, gave them a “real kind of validation.” Doernberg echoed the sentiment.

“When you come together collectively, it’s so empowering, it’s exhilarating, and it lets people know they’re not alone,” he said. “Most of the American people are on our side, and that’s where we keep telling each other and reminding ourselves.”