Thousands Mobilize for ‘No Kings' Demonstrations Across All 50 States
EDITORS NOTE: EDS: SUBS throughout to update; REVISES headline and byline; ADDS related story; RECODES as an added Page 1 refer.); (ART ADV: With photos.); (With: TRUMP-MILITARY-ASSESS, CALIF-PROTESTS-RECONSTRUCT
Many thousands of protesters filled plazas, streets and parks across the country Saturday, mounting a mass mobilization against a president that many demonstrators decried as authoritarian. The protests, in small towns and major cities including Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta, came as President Donald Trump was set to host a military parade in Washington in the afternoon.
The "No Kings" events in all 50 states were animated in part by the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, domestic military mobilization, spending cuts and parade in Washington that coincided with the president's 79th birthday. With many demonstrators waving American flags, the protest crowds at times recited the Pledge of Allegiance and carried signs referencing the nation's founding fathers.
In Newark, New Jersey, Rep. LaMonica Mclver stood in front of a statue of Abraham Lincoln and struck a tone of defiance. She faces federal charges of interfering with federal law enforcement outside a migrant detention center.
"They will not silence, intimidate or bully me," Mclver said. "We have to be on the front lines to fight for democracy."
That message took a particularly ominous tone as news spread from Minnesota that a person pretending to be a police officer had assassinated a Democratic state lawmaker and attempted to kill a second. The state patrol asked people to refrain from attending "No Kings" events in the state, reporting that materials referencing the gatherings were found in the vehicle of the suspect, who remained at large Saturday afternoon.
Hours later, authorities in Texas evacuated the state Capitol and its grounds "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 collective action encompassed some 2,000 planned events. Those protests came amid building outrage over raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Los Angeles that led to mass demonstrations and conflicts with law enforcement.
In San Francisco, hundreds of protesters blocked the entrances of a building that houses ICE offices after dozens of immigrants who lack permanent legal status received phone alerts telling them to check in for appointments Saturday. The agency has been detaining immigrants who show up at routine check-ins.
In Atlanta, thousands of people packed into Liberty Plaza, carrying signs that included the message "Stop Trump's Terrorism" and singing a rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" adjusted with the words "Take Trump out of the White House." In Westerly, Rhode Island, hundreds of people stood in a light rain along U.S. Highway 1, some with signs and bullhorns. One sign read: "Not a paid protestor, I hate him for free."
People marched in the rain down Queens Boulevard in New York City, occupying 10 blocks of a service lane. The mood was boisterous as people chanted "No Kings in Queens," and people in passing cars honked their horns and cheered.
In Staten Island, the city's most conservative borough, demonstrators on Victory Boulevard also were met with supportive honks from cars and, in some cases, heckling. "Long live the king," one driver shouted as he passed the group.
Thousands swelled the area outside City Hall in Los Angeles, which has emerged as the epicenter of anxiety over immigration enforcement and has seen days of sustained protests. Members of Russian dissident group Pussy Riot, their heads covered in red balaclavas, climbed the steps of City Hall with a banner that read, "It's beginning to look a lot like Russia."
Authorities in Los Angeles had said they were bracing for crowd sizes that could be "unprecedented."
Elected leaders and law enforcement officials in California and across the country encouraged protesters to remain peaceful, and 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.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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