a day ago
Trump protests sweep across U.S. ahead of Saturday's military parade
Demonstrators crowded into streets, parks and plazas across the U.S. Saturday to rally against President Donald Trump as officials urged calm and mobilized National Guard troops ahead of a military parade to mark the army's 250th anniversary that coincides with the president's birthday.
In Washington, D.C., where Trump is deeply unpopular, a frequent topic of conversation this week was making sure to avoid downtown Saturday or to get out of town.
There were multiple protests across the city, including one in Northwest Washington where a couple of dozen mostly elderly people gathered outside their building holding signs, with passing cars constantly honking in support.
One woman here turned 100 the month Trump was re-elected last November. And there she was in her wheelchair in Northwest Washington, along Connecticut Avenue, holding a sign saying, "We Got RID of KINGS in 1776."
"A liar. A thief," is how 100-year-old Elaine Newman described the president.
"It's unbelievable," she said.
She was a union employee who previously worked on the 1950 U.S. census, and at a tuberculosis sanitarium in Texas.
She's lived through the rise and fall of fascism, the creation of the modern welfare state and the spread of civil rights.
Now Newman says she feels disbelief at seeing an authoritarian president; his budget bill that steers money away from health programs for the poor and elderly, shifting wealth to the rich; universities defunded in fights with him; and the cruelty of his mass deportation program.
"Those poor people," Newman said, referring to planned cuts to health programs.
Across the street was a Polish immigrant who recalled the authoritarians of his native country.
A retired engineer, Jerry Malesa was in college during 1968 protests that led to crackdowns in eastern Europe.
He says he finds it chillingly familiar seeing institutions punished for arguing with Trump and, conversely, seeing cabinet members expected to constantly flatter the president in TV appearances.
"I really am afraid for this country," said Malesa, holding up a sign that said: "Democracy Not Autocracy."
Near him on the sidewalk, one woman who gave only her first name said she couldn't believe her eyes on Jan. 6, 2021, and said things have only gotten worse: "Since then it's just numbing. And nauseating. One runs out of words."
Nearly 2,000 protests planned
Protests were planned in nearly 2,000 locations across the country, from city blocks and small towns to courthouse steps and community parks, organizers said.
In downtown Los Angeles, thousands of people had already gathered in front of city hall well before the protest start time. They carried signs against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Trump and authoritarianism.
"If not now, when?" said Christina Joubert, 46, a first-time protester who travelled from the South Bay area of Los Angeles to the event.
"Our country is suffering right now. People are suffering. It doesn't really matter who you voted for. Everyone is afraid … I'm here to stand for people treating one another like humans again."
Atlanta's 5,000-capacity "No Kings" rally quickly reached its limit, with thousands more demonstrators outside the barrier to hear speakers in front of the state capitol.
Intermittent light rain fell as sign-carrying marchers gathered for the flagship rally in Philadelphia's Love Park, and shouted "Whose streets? Our streets!" as they marched down Ben Franklin Parkway to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
In Charlotte, N.C., crowds cheered anti-Trump speakers in the city's First Ward Park and chanted, "We have no kings," before marching behind a "No Kings" banner.
The 50501 Movement orchestrating the protests says it picked the "No Kings" name to support democracy and speak out against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump name 50501 stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement.
The demonstrations come on the heels of protests that flared up across the country over federal immigration enforcement raids that began last week and Trump ordering the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where protesters blocked a freeway and set cars on fire.
About 1,000 people gathered on the grounds of Florida's old capitol in Tallahassee, where protesters chanted, "This is what community looks like," and carried signs with messages like "One Nation Under Distress" and "Dissent is Patriotic."
Republican states warn protesters, mobilize law enforcement
Organizers say that one march will go to the gates of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis warned demonstrators that the "line is very clear" between peaceful demonstration and violence, and not to cross it.
Republican governors in Virginia, Texas, Nebraska and Missouri were mobilizing National Guard troops to help law enforcement manage demonstrations. There will be "zero tolerance" for violence, destruction or disrupting traffic, and "if you violate the law, you're going to be arrested," Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin told reporters Friday.
In Missouri, Gov. Mike Kehoe issued a similar message, vowing to take a proactive approach and not to "wait for chaos to ensue." Some law enforcement agencies announced they were ramping up efforts for the weekend.
In California, state troopers were on "tactical alert," which means all days off are cancelled for all officers, while West Virginia's governor put the state police and National Guard on standby.
On social media, Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, called for peaceful protests over the weekend to ensure Trump doesn't send military to the state. "Donald Trump wants to be able to say that we cannot handle our own public safety in Washington state," Ferguson said.
In a statement Friday, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, urged protesters "to remain peaceful and calm as they exercise their First Amendment right to make their voices heard."
