By Brad Brooks
(Reuters) – Protesters of all ages, many with children and pets, took to the streets en masse for “No Kings” rallies across the United States on Saturday, denouncing what they see as U.S. President Donald Trump’s authoritarian tendencies and rampant corruption.
Organizers expected millions of people to turn out by day’s end at more than 2,600 demonstrations planned in big cities, small towns and suburbs, challenging a Trump-led agenda that has reshaped the government and upended democratic norms with unprecedented speed since he took office in January.
By all indications, the demonstrations were largely festive, many featuring inflatable characters and protesters dressed in red, white and blue. Among the demographically mixed crowds were many parents pushing young children in strollers along with elderly participants.
Little or no lawlessness was reported.
“There is nothing more American than saying, ‘We have no kings,’ and exercising our right to peacefully protest,” said Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, a progressive organization that led the planning of Saturday’s events.
The New York Police Department said more than 100,000 people protested peacefully across the five boroughs and that the NYPD “made no protest-related arrests.” Events in Boston, Chicago and Atlanta also drew crowds.
The protests reflected growing unrest among many Americans, primarily on the ideological left, over developments such as the criminal prosecution of Trump’s political enemies, his militarized crackdown on immigration and the sending of National Guard troops to American cities, a move Trump said was aimed at fighting crime and protecting immigration agents.
As his administration has sought to quickly implement his policies, Trump has installed inexperienced loyalists throughout the ranks of his administration and has sought to put pressure on the media, law firms and higher education.
The demonstrations were boisterous but orderly, and police largely kept a low profile.
In Washington, protesters filled the streets as they marched to the US Capitol, chanting and carrying US signs, flags and balloons. Many people (and their dogs) wore costumes in a relaxed, carnival-like atmosphere.
Protester Aliston Elliot, wearing a Statue of Liberty headdress and holding a sign that read “No wannabe dictators,” said: “We want to show our support for democracy and fighting for what’s right. I’m against the overreach of power.”
In downtown Houston, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Daniel Aboyte Gamez, 30, joined a crowd that authorities said numbered about 5,000 at City Hall Saturday afternoon.
“I don’t understand what’s going on in this nation right now,” said Gamez, who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.
Kevin Brice, 70, a military veteran among the thousands of protesters who descended on the waterfront in Portland, Oregon, wore a black sweatshirt emblazoned with the slogan “No Kings Since 1776.”
“Everything I thought I stood for while serving in the military seems to be at risk,” Brice said. “So even though I’m a lifelong Republican, I don’t support the direction the party is taking.”
Steve Klopp, 74, a Houston-based oil industry retiree, expressed similar sentiments while wearing a T-shirt with the words “former Republican.”
“I’ve been a Republican forever,” Klopp said. “My family has been Republican forever. And the idea that one individual could have turned me away from the Republican Party is crazy.”
Kelly Kinsella, 38, standing among several thousand people gathered outside Colorado’s government headquarters in Denver, was dressed as the Statue of Liberty, with tears of blood dripping down her face and carrying a “No Kings” sign.
“Everyone comes to work stressed, and it’s because of the current conditions,” said Kinsella, who said she was motivated to go to work largely because of renewed inflation that she attributed to Trump’s tariff policies.
TRUMP SAYS HE IS NOT A KING
Trump has said little about Saturday’s protests. But in an interview with Fox Business aired Friday, he said, “They refer to me as a king, I’m not a king.”
More than 300 grassroots groups helped organize Saturday’s marches, Greenberg said. The American Civil Liberties Union said it provided legal guidance and training to “de-escalate” tens of thousands of people to act as marshals at the various marches.
While the Democratic Party has faced internal divisions over how best to oppose Trump, party establishment figures like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and progressive firebrands like U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez expressed support for the “No Kings” movement.
Saturday’s protests were aimed at building on popular momentum gained by organizers of more than 2,000 “No Kings” protests that took place on June 14, coinciding with Trump’s 79th birthday and a rare military parade in Washington.
REPUBLICANS CLAIM PROTESTS ARE ANTI-AMERICAN
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, on Friday echoed a common refrain among his party, calling the “No Kings” protests “the manifestation of hatred of America.”
Other Republicans have accused protest organizers of stoking an atmosphere that could lead to more political violence, especially following the September killing of right-wing activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk.
Dana Fisher, a professor at American University in Washington and author of several books on American activism, predicted that Saturday could see the largest protest turnout in modern American history.
She expected more than 3 million people to participate based on registrations and participation in the June events.
Overall participation in the June 14 “No Kings” protests was estimated at between 4 and 6 million people, according to a crowdsourcing analysis published by prominent data journalist G. Elliott Morris on his Strength in Numbers blog.
Fisher said the protests were “not going to change Trump’s policies. But they could embolden elected officials at all levels who oppose Trump.”
(Reporting by Brad Brooks, AJ Vicens and David Shephardson; Editing by Marguerita Choy, Cynthia Osterman, Nick Zieminski and Diane Craft)