As part of a wave of “No Kings” demonstrations across the country, protesters gathered Saturday in Montgomery County to deliver pointed messages decrying President Donald Trump’s administration and political interference in public institutions.

In Bethesda, that national movement converged at the doorstep of one of the federal government’s most prominent research hubs. Nearly 400 people gathered Saturday outside the Medical Center Metro station at the entrance to the National Institutes of Health, where a regular weekend protest targets cuts and restrictions on public science.

This week’s rally was organized by 27 UNIHTED, an activist network of former NIH employees led by Anna Culbertson, a former NIH scientific program specialist laid off last year. In addition to the demonstration, the group hosted a food drive to support Transportation Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security employees who have gone without pay during the recent partial government shutdown.

Culbertson said participants are alarmed by what they see as growing censorship of science, along with funding reductions and staff cuts at NIH. Many in attendance were current or former NIH employees and their families. “We’re all about advocating for the future of biomedical research,” she said.

Former NIH program official Jenna Norton, who was placed on leave in November, said she came to keep attention on what she described as deepening turmoil inside the agency.

Others echoed that concern. Sarah Kobrin, a 22-year NIH employee who works in grants administration, said she worries about new restrictions shaping which research proposals are funded — and which are not — under the Trump administration.

Mukul Ranjan, who spent 37 years at NIH after immigrating from India, left the infectious disease department last year when roughly half of his office was laid off. After more than three decades in public science, he said, he hardly recognizes the institution he joined. “This is not what we signed up for,” he said.

The rally featured speakers ranging from leaders in infectious disease research to NIH postdoctoral fellows and Montgomery County Council member Evan Glass. Before and after remarks, political punk band Allstrike performed a set of protest songs, including “No Kings in America” and “RFK Plague.”

Guitarist Nick Allen described the performance as part of a broader civic stand. “This is resistance,” he said.

‘Concerned, frustrated, sick’

Buoyed by a continuous symphony of car horns, over 700 “No Kings” protesters lined both sides of Frederick Road in Gaithersburg.

“People are really concerned, frustrated, sick,” said Mayor Jud Ashman, noting that Montgomery County has been hit hard by actions of the Trump administration because of its high number of federal employees and contractors. “I 100% support the message here,” he added.

The event also served as a community meetup, allowing neighbors and friends to connect. Gary Cuttler, new to Montgomery County, said it was his first protest since the Nixon administration and called the turnout “absolutely marvelous.”

This was the third “No Kings” rally in Gaithersburg. Negative interactions were rare — just an occasional thumbs-down or upturned middle finger. Even a man in a frog costume struggled against the wind as he danced to the beat of car horns.

One notable absence: young people. Peter Marks, a 17-year-old Quince Orchard High School student, spent the afternoon handing out signs, manning the water station and counting attendees. Of the roughly 700 people he tallied, only about five were his age. Marks said he is especially concerned about U.S. military operations in Iran.

Others, including Patti Connell and her niece Bella Kopech, 24, said the rally offered a way to turn frustration into action. “It feels hopeless,” Kopech said. “This is a way to reignite that hope.”

She noted that young adults often focus on online activism or feel protests won’t make a difference — but “all of it helps,” she said.

Maryland state Senate hopeful Amar Mukunda, 33 and a combat engineer, said he hopes to inspire more of his generation to engage. He lamented “how often younger people aren’t active in this fight.”