Coordinated “No Kings” protests are underway from coast-to-coast, part of a “national day of peaceful protest” against the Trump administration that is expected to draw millions.
In Florida, marchers got as close to Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach estate, as police would allow and were met by Trump supporters. An impromptu rally kicked off at LOVE Park in Philadelphia – where the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence.
Hundreds have already began gathering in northern and southern California for protests, marches and a car cruise, but organizers have drawn special attention to Los Angeles, where President Donald Trump called in the National Guard and the Marines after some protests over immigration enforcement raids spiraled into violence.
About 2,000 protests and rallies are planned nationwide.
“I have a lot of family members that are immigrants and basic human rights are being taken away on a daily,” Los Angeles resident Beatriz Pérez, 27, told USA TODAY ahead of the city’s protest. Perez added that she hopes the country’s leaders “have a change of heart.”
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‘No Kings’ rally draws thousands to downtown Louisville
On the steps of Metro Hall in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, protesters began gathering before noon, carrying signs that read “No kings in America” and “Dictator or democracy: That’s the choice.”
Drivers honked their horns as they passed the demonstration, spurring cheers from the crowd. Ponchos and umbrellas came out as a short rain storm passed over.
Tom Scharff was among those who gathered early.
“The hatred that exists, that (Trump has) generated, has got to stop,” he said, explaining why he chose to attend. “Democracy has got to come back in full.”
Scharff cited the administration’s crackdown on immigration, including deployment of the military in Los Angeles, as issues he is concerned about.
“Now they’re taking people off the streets,” he said. “It’s not America.”
-Connor Giffin, Louisville Courier Journal
No ‘No Kings’ protests planned in Washington, DC
Though other groups have plans to protest in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, there aren’t any “No Kings” protests planned in the city, where Trump will hold a parade Saturday evening to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. The anniversary also falls on Flag Day and Trump’s 79th birthday.
Roughly 60 protesters were arrested in the district on Friday after a few pushed down a bike rack, crossed a police line and ran towards the steps of the U.S. Capitol, Capitol Police said in a statement.
The “No Kings” protests are meant to oppose what demonstrators see as Trump’s power grab. The number of planned events is nearly double that of the April 5 “Hands Off” protest that saw millions of Americans turn out in big and small cities nationwide.
Protesters fear crackdown: But demonstrators stick to plans to rally in DC before June 14 Army parade
Minnesota protests canceled amid search for shooting suspect
Organizers of the “No Kings” demonstrations and local officials urged demonstrators to stay home from planned protests in Minnesota on Saturday after a lawmaker and her husband were fatally shot and another lawmaker and his wife were injured at their homes. Gov. Tim Walz called the incident a “politically motivated assassination.”
“Governor Walz has recommended that we cancel No Kings events across the state of Minnesota because the individual who assassinated a Democratic lawmaker is still at large,” organizers said in a statement on their website. “For the safety of all involved, we are cancelling all Minnesota events not already underway.”
Authorities found papers with “No Kings” written on them in the back seat of the suspect’s vehicle, Col. Christina Bogojevic with the Department of Public Safety said.
There was no evidence that there was a specific threat to the “No Kings” rallies, but Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said authorities were sharing the information about the papers found so the public remains informed.
Read more: Walz urges Minnesotans to avoid ‘No Kings’ Day rallies June 14 after shooting
‘All of you are immigrants’: Los Angeles No Kings Rally kicks off
At City Hall in Los Angeles, sheriff’s deputies fanned out at the top of the steps as people began to gather in advance of one of several protests planned across the city.
Reggae music, the sound of helicopters overheard and the smell of freshly cooked hot dogs being sold by vendors for $10 a piece greeted arrivals.
As the crowd quickly swelled to about 1,000 people, hundreds of others gathered around a speaker: Shannon Rivers on a bull horn. Rivers is member of the Akimel O’otham (River People) Nation and is an Indigenous Peoples human rights activist.
Other members of the Native American group played drums and some held signs that read, “No one is illegal on stolen land.” Los Angeles is the ancestral land of the Tongva People.
“Stop talking about immigrants,” Rivers said. “All of you are immigrants. Everyone one of you. We’ve accepted you into our territory — sometimes reluctantly but we’ve done it. We are here today, we are standing in solidarity.”
Many among those gathered near City Hall have brought signs with messages including: “The Only Minority Destroying America Are Billionaires,” “L.A. Heat Melts I.C.E.” and “United We Stand Against Hate.”
And then there was the sign Victor Ceron carried to the barricade midway up the steps at City Hall and held it high so the sheriff’s deputies fanned out across the top could see it.
It read: “Brown Won’t Back Down.”
Ceron, who said he is a 39-year-old, first generation Mexican-American said he wants the world to see the sign so people know, “We are a resilient people.”
He said it was his first protest, and he came alone. “But I’m thinking of my parents and my son. He’s the future,” added Ceron, who said he was born and raised in Los Angeles.
-Pamela Avila and Josh Peter
Protests ramp up across California
Protesters are showing up for the planned 9 a.m. Saturday protest at Redding City Hall in Shasta County in Northern California to say, “We don’t fall for the fear-mongering, we want ICE out of California, and we won’t let our elected officials be attacked,” said Redding resident Brooke McGowen, who attended similar past protests.
Hundreds of people also gathered in the morning for the No Kings rally in Cathedral City in Southern California’s Coachella Valley on Saturday. They lined the street near the Cathedral City Civic Center.
Protesters carried an array of signs that said things like “We Don’t Need A Nepo-Baby King,” “Get the Faux King Out of Our White House,” and “A Woman’s Place is in the Resistance.” They were chanting “Trump Must Go!”
Coachella Valley residents will also march and cruise from Coachella to Rancho Mirage on Saturday.
-Ani Gasparyan and Jennifer Cortez, Palm Springs Desert Sun and Jessica Skropanic, Redding Record Searchlight
Thousands march in No Kings Day protest in Oklahoma City
“No hate, no fear. Immigrants are welcome here,” marchers chanted in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Cars driving by honked in support, drawing cheers from the marchers. Thunder clapped loudly as the rain became more steady.
James Neal, 50, of Enid, said he came to Oklahoma City to protest the “rise of authoritarianism in the country and defend the constitution.” A U.S. Navy veteran, he wore a shirt that said, “Not on my Watch.”
-Ray Rivera, The Oklahoman
‘No Kings’ float joins Columbus pride march
A “No Kings” march took place June 13 in downtown Columbus, Ohio and Indivisible Central Ohio brought the same themes into its float at the Stonewall Columbus Pride Festival and March on Saturday.
Protestors with the group gathered around a white parade float styled after the White House. “No kings in the White House,” read a banner across it.
People carried signs stating, “No kings, no dictators, no billionaires, no bullies”; “We the people means everyone”; and other slogans.
Mia Lewis, organizer for Indivisible Central Ohio and a member of Common Cause, said her group was there to protests because the rights of LGBTQ+ people are under attack by the Trump administration, along with the rights of immigrants, women and refugees.
“We the people do not accept a president who is trying to overthrow our democracy,” Lewis said. “We do not accept that Donald Trump is trying to be a king. … So many things he is doing run counter to our democracy.”
-Bailey Gallion, Cole Behrens, Nathaniel Shuda, Eleanor Kennedy and Nathan Hart, Columbus Dispatch
Hundreds gather in Delaware for as ‘No Kings’ protest
More than a thousand people marched in Wilmington, Delaware on the morning of June 14 as part of “No Kings” day.
Demonstrators began organizing before 9 a.m., when the first speakers addressed the crowd. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester was one of the initial speakers, followed by Gov. Matt Meyer. Meyer served as grand marshal as speakers wrapped up and the “parade” got underway around 9:20 a.m.
The governor stirred the crowd by quoting Simon Wiesenthal, an Austrian Holocaust survivor, Nazi hunter and writer:
“For evil to flourish, for evil to flourish, it only takes one thing for evil to flourish, for evil to flourish,” Meyer quoted. “It only requires that good women and men be silenced for evil to flourish; it only requires that good women and men be silent.”
-Isabel Hughes and Esteban Parra, Delaware News Journal
‘No Kings’ march toward Mar-a-Lago begins
At exactly 10 a.m., attendees young and old migrated from the shade of Phipps Park’s ficus trees to began their march toward Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach estate. Some chanted into megaphones and others seemed content to nod along.
Daniela Childers, a 31-year-old therapist from West Palm Beach, stood alone among the crowd of demonstrators gathered at the park ahead of the march. She said she’s a generally anxious person who had abstained from protests before, but decided she could no longer watch from the sidelines.
“I’m here at my first protest to basically show dissent to the current administration that I disagree with completely,” she said.
– Hannah Phillips and Valentina Palm, Palm Beach Post
Where are ‘No Kings Day’ protests planned? See the map
The largest protest effort is expected in Philadelphia. Major protests are also scheduled in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, Phoenix and Los Angeles, while sympathetic protests have cropped up in other countries.
Philadelphia ‘No Kings’ protest set to be largest
The largest “No Kings” protest on June 14 is expected to take place in Philadelphia as a nod to the country’s history and to avoid accusations that protesters are opposing the Army parade in the nation’s capital, organizers have said.
“We made that choice to not feed into any narrative that Trump might want that we’re counter protesting him directly or give him the opportunity to crack down on protesters,” Levin said.
Read more: ‘No Kings’ organizers say Philadelphia set to be largest June 14 protest. Why?
The Philadelphia protest begins at LOVE Park at the corner of Arch Street & North 15th Street at noon. At 12:30 p.m. the crowd plans to march down the Ben Franklin Parkway to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where several people will speak. It is expected to end at about 3 p.m.
The Association of the United States Army is also hosting its own celebration for the 250th anniversary of the Army in Philadelphia over three days that started Friday, for which the city closed parts of several roads and altered bus routes.
Sherri King woke up at 6 a.m. to head to the Philadelphia protest from her home in Elkton, Maryland.
“I just think it’s important because I’m an American citizen and we have to live by the constitution, and Trump is not obeying the constitution from what I see,” King said while finishing her protest sign in LOVE Park.
“We don’t need no kings in America. We have a democracy,” King said.
Some protests could see bad weather
Much of the central and eastern parts of the country are expected to see showers and some storms on Saturday, with the chance for severe thunderstorms affecting protests in parts of the northern High Plains states of Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska.
Forecasters said flash flooding is a concern in Virginia and North Carolina on Saturday.
Meanwhile, parts of the West are expecting a hot, dry heat with temperatures up to 110s in the Desert Southwest. Read more.
Contributing: Kaitlyn McCormick, Cherry Hill Courier-Post; Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘No Kings’ protests underway from Florida to California: Updates
The post ‘No Kings’ protests underway from Florida to California: Updates appeared first on USA TODAY.
