Washington: Large crowds of protesters marched and rallied in cities across the US Saturday for "No Kings" demonstrations decrying what participants see as the government's swift drift into authoritarianism under President Donald Trump.
People carrying signs with slogans such as "Nothing is more patriotic than protesting" or "Resist Fascism" packed into New York City's Times Square and rallied by the thousands in parks in Boston, Atlanta and Chicago. Demonstrators marched through Washington and downtown Los Angeles and picketed outside capitols in several Republican-led states, a courthouse in Billings, Montana, and at hundreds of smaller public spaces.
Trump's Republican Party disparaged the demonstrations as "Hate America" rallies, but in many places the events looked more like a street party. There were marching bands, a huge banner with the US Constitution's "We The People" preamble that people could sign, and demonstrators wearing inflatable costumes, particularly frogs, which have emerged as a sign of resistance in Portland, Oregon.
It was the third mass mobilisation since Trump's return to the White House and came against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programmes and services but is testing the core balance of power, as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that protest organisers warn are a slide toward authoritarianism.
In Washington, Iraq War Marine veteran Shawn Howard said he had never participated in a protest before but was motivated to show up because of what he sees as the Trump administration's "disregard for the law." He said immigration detentions without due process and deployments of troops in US cities are "un-American" and alarming signs of eroding democracy.
"I fought for freedom and against this kind of extremism abroad," said Howard, who added that he also worked at the CIA for 20 years on counter-extremism operations. "And now I see a moment in America where we have extremists everywhere who are, in my opinion, pushing us to some kind of civil conflict." Trump, meanwhile, was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
"They say they're referring to me as a king. I'm not a king," the president said in a Fox News interview that aired early on Friday, before he departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc fundraiser at his club.
Later that day, a Trump campaign social media account mocked the protests by posting a computer-generated video of the president clothed like a monarch, wearing a crown and waving from a balcony.
Nationwide demonstrations
In San Francisco hundreds of people spelled out "No King!" and other phrases with their bodies on Ocean Beach. Hayley Wingard, who was dressed as the Statue of Liberty, said she too had never been to a protest before. Only recently she began to view Trump as a "dictator." "I was actually OK with everything until I found that the military invasion in Los Angeles and Chicago and Portland -- Portland bothered me the most, because I'm from Portland, and I don't want the military in my cities. That's scary," Wingard said.
Salt Lake City demonstrators gathered outside the Utah State Capitol to share messages of hope and healing after a protester was fatally shot during the city's first "No Kings" march in June.
And more than 1,500 people gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, evoking and the city's history of protests and the critical role it played in the Civil Rights Movement two generations ago.
"It just feels like we're living in an America that I don't recognise," said Jessica Yother, a mother of four. She and other protesters said they felt camaraderie by gathering in a state where Trump won nearly 65 per cent of the vote last November.
"It was so encouraging," Yother said. "I walked in and thought, Here are my people."
Organisers hope to build opposition movement
"Big rallies like this give confidence to people who have been sitting on the sidelines but are ready to speak up," Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy said in an interview with The Associated Press.
While protests earlier this year -- against Elon Musk's cuts and Trump's military parade -- drew crowds, organisers say this one is uniting the opposition. Top Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders are joining what organisers view as an antidote to Trump's actions, from the administration's clampdown on free speech to its military-style immigration raids.
More than 2,600 rallies were planned on Saturday, organisers said. The national march against Trump and Musk this spring had 1,300 registered locations, while the first "No Kings" day in June registered 2,100.
"We're here because we love America," Sanders said, addressing the crowd from a stage in Washington. He said the American experiment is "in danger" under Trump but insisted, "We the people will rule."
Republican critics denounce the demonstrations
Republicans sought to portray protesters as far outside the mainstream and a prime reason for the government shutdown, now in its 18th day.
From the White House to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders called them "communists" and "Marxists." They said Democratic leaders including Schumer are beholden to the far-left flank and willing to keep the government shut to appease those liberal forces.
"I encourage you to watch -- we call it the Hate America rally -- that will happen on Saturday," said House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
"Let's see who shows up for that," Johnson said, listing groups including "antifa types," people who "hate capitalism" and "Marxists in full display." Many demonstrators, in response, said they were meeting such hyperbole with humour, noting that Trump often leans heavily on theatrics such as claiming that cities he sends troops to are war zones.
New York police reported no arrests during the protests.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
