Live Updates: Wave of Anti-Trump Protests Sweeps Across U.S.

New York Times

14-06-2025

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Protesters filled plazas, streets and parks across the country on Saturday, mounting a mass mobilization that called for protecting American democracy from a president that many decried as authoritarian. The demonstrations set off in waves as the day progressed, in small towns and major cities including New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles, the heart of a surging protest movement against President Trump.
Some 2,000 events, organized under the slogan 'No Kings,' were planned across all 50 states, animated by the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, domestic military mobilization, federal spending cuts and Mr. Trump's planned military parade in Washington, which was coinciding with his 79th birthday. Many demonstrators struck patriotic themes, waving American flags, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance or carrying signs referencing the nation's founding fathers.
Carlie Woods, 21, protesting with her father and sister in Springfield, Mass., said she had nearly lost her voice from cheering as she carried a sign featuring an American flag and a 'Power to the People' message. 'A lot of times it can feel very doom and gloom,' she said, 'but this makes you feel like you're not alone, to be around so many people fighting for our future.'
Speakers at a rally outside the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., paid tribute to State Representative Melissa Hortman, the Democratic lawmaker who was assassinated overnight by a person pretending to be a police officer. Organizers called off other rallies in the state as investigators said the attacker, who remained at large, may have also planned to target the protests.
Hours later, the authorities in Texas temporarily cleared the grounds of the State Capitol 'out of an abundance of caution' after receiving what they described as a credible threat toward state legislators who were expected to attend the protest in Austin. The Capitol building itself remained closed.
Organizers of the No Kings demonstrations called on participants to focus on 'nonviolent action.' In Houston, some demonstrators handed out flowers to police officers who were securing the route of the protest. In Chicago, the police superintendent helped a woman who tripped on the street near him.
Many of the events drew large crowds, but confrontations with the police were rare. In Charlotte, N.C., police sprayed a chemical irritant at protesters attempting to move past a line of officers after the official end of the No Kings protest. And during a separate protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a northern Atlanta neighborhood with a large Hispanic population, police deployed tear gas into a crowd that was headed toward a highway.
Here's what else to know:
Military parade: No Kings organizers avoided calling for demonstrations in Washington, where the military parade was set to go on despite a forecast of thunderstorms. Mr. Trump previously warned that anyone seeking to protest at the parade would be met with 'very big force.'
The speakers: In Newark, U.S. Representative LaMonica Mclver stood in front of a statue of Abraham Lincoln outside the Essex County courthouse and struck a tone of defiance. Ms. Mclver, who faces federal charges related to a confrontation at a migrant detention center last month, said she would not be silenced or intimidated. 'We have to be on the front lines to fight for democracy,' she said. In Philadelphia, Martin Luther King III told the crowd, 'We will not let democracy die on our watch.'
Los Angeles crackdown : In the months before the immigration raids in Los Angeles, the Trump administration and immigrant rights groups had been preparing for conflict. Then the message arrived: 'ICE is here,' one father wrote. 'They're going to take us.' Read more ›
Shifting priorities: The Trump administration recently shifted the focus of its mass deportation campaign, telling immigration officials to largely pause raids and arrests in hotels, restaurants and the agricultural industry. Read more ›