A wave of “No Kings” protests took place across the United States on Saturday, drawing hundreds of thousands in opposition to President Donald Trump’s administration.
A significant wave of “No Kings” demonstrations unfolded across the United States on Saturday, with hundreds of thousands of protesters rallying against the administration of President Donald Trump. According to CNN, over 2,500 protests occurred in all 50 states, with organizers highlighting perceived threats to democracy, military deployments in urban areas, and extensive federal program cuts as central issues of concern.
In San Francisco, The Guardian reported that crowds along Market Street exceeded 500,000 marchers, surpassing the turnout from June, as noted by Michelle Gutierrez Vo, president of the California Nurses Association. Demonstrators also gathered at Ocean Beach, forming the phrases “No Kings” and “Yes on 50” with their bodies. Among the participants was Hayley Wingard, who dressed as the Statue of Liberty and expressed her apprehension about military presence in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and particularly Portland, her hometown. “I was actually OK with everything until I found that the military invasion in Los Angeles and Chicago and Portland – Portland bothered me the most, because I’m from Portland, and I don’t want the military in my cities. That’s scary,” she remarked.
In New York City, BBC reported that Times Square was filled with thousands of protesters chanting slogans such as “Democracy not Monarchy” and “The Constitution is not optional.” The New York Police Department estimated that over 100,000 participants gathered across the five boroughs, with no arrests reported related to the protests. Organizers emphasized that “non-violence is a core principle of No Kings events” on the movement’s website.
Los Angeles also witnessed at least ten peaceful demonstrations, with Mayor Karen Bass affirming that “we know he’s (President Trump) not a king, but we don’t want to see our democracy slide backwards into authoritarianism.” She described the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles against the governor’s wishes as “the first move toward authoritarianism.”
Peaceful protests were also reported in cities such as San Diego, Charlotte, and Austin, where local police departments expressed gratitude to participants for their cooperation during the events.
In Washington, D.C., a federal employee named Monica, who chose not to disclose her last name, shared her reasons for joining the protest after being furloughed during the government shutdown. “The elimination of all these jobs is creating mass threats for people to keep a roof over their head, send their kids to college, and the hope of the American dream,” she stated. “A lot of people have been stressed, including myself. I was in tears. I was losing sleep, just worried about the way everything was going, whether I was going to be able to keep my job. A lot of people I know that have just started in their careers… My children and co-workers, who also have bills and want to survive, have been really in a lot of turmoil.”
Throughout the nation, chants of “this is what democracy looks like” resonated in city streets, conveying a unified message of resistance against what protesters characterize as encroaching authoritarianism.
Source: Original article