What We Know About the ‘No Kings' Protests on Saturday
Planned protests against the Trump administration that are expected to be among the largest since the president's second term began will be held across the country on Saturday.
The demonstrations will occur in all 50 states, and organizers have estimated roughly 2,000 gatherings — ranging from small groups in more rural communities to larger rallies in major cities including New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and Denver. According to a map by organizers, there are some three dozen events scheduled in Indiana alone. Protests are also scheduled in other countries including Britain, Mexico and Germany.
They come as President Trump's immigration crackdown and decision to deploy the military in Los Angeles have already led to large-scale protests there and additional protests in several other cities.
On the same day as the protests, Mr. Trump has scheduled a military parade in Washington for the Army's 250th anniversary, which also coincides with his 79th birthday.
Here's what we know about the protests.
Who's behind the protests?
The demonstrations, organized under the slogan 'No Kings,' have been arranged by a number of groups that overlap with the coalition that pulled together the 'Hands Off!' demonstrations on April 5 and other recent large protests against the president.
Organizers include Indivisible, the American Civil Liberties Union and 50501. Some of these groups organized protests during Mr. Trump's first term over abortion rights and gun violence. The 'Hands Off!' protests in April focused on the message that the president was threatening health care, education and Social Security.
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'Out of an abundance of caution my Department of Public Safety is recommending that people do not attend any political rallies today in Minnesota until the suspect is apprehended,' he wrote on social media. But organizers elsewhere said the events will go on. Diane Morgan, a Cleveland-based mobilization coordinator with Our Revolution, said that in the wake of the shooting she's hearing from people on the ground who are saying that 'more than anything else, it makes people more determined, much like what happened with L.A.,' to attend a protest Saturday. Democratic governors in several states — including North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs — released statements on the eve of the planned demonstrations, emphasizing the right to peacefully protest but urging Americans taking to the streets to remain peaceful. 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Schifeling said she finds Trump's objections 'laughable.' 'This is a person who violates the law at every turn, and is doing everything in his power to intimidate and crush — using the vast power of the presidency and also power that he doesn't even have — to crush anybody that he perceives as disagreeing with him or as his enemies. Those are the actions of a king,' she said. Adam Wren contributed to this report.
