Protesters carry a banner representing the Preamble to the US Constitution in downtown Los Angeles during an anti-Trump Kings Day demonstration on June 14.
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Millions of demonstrators across the US are expected to take to the streets on Saturday to protest President Trump's policies. The marches are part of the No Kings movement, which has accused the president of acting more like a monarch than an elected official.
It will be second massive wave of protests organized by No Kings, a network of progressive organizations fighting the Trump agenda.
“In June, we did what many thought impossible: we peacefully mobilized millions of people to take to the streets and declare with one voice: There are no kings in America,” the group said in a statement. website.
Overwhelmingly peaceful June protests were in response to a military parade held in honor of the Army's 250th anniversary, which coincided with Trump's 79th birthday.
Critics said Trump pushed for the extravagant parade not to honor the military but as a display of his own vanity.
“Now President Trump has doubled down,” No Kings states on its website, citing immigration detentions conducted by often masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the administration's aggressive offensive against federal educational resources And environmental protection, fraud and other problems.
None of the Kings organizers suggested that more than 5 million people ended up at the June protests. They suggest Saturday's event could be even bigger.
House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized the event as “Hate America Rally“, and other Republicans derided the event as un-American.
In response to NPR's questions about the protests, White House press secretary Abigail Jackson said, “Who cares?”
Republican governments. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Greg Abbott of Texas mobilized their respective states' National Guards in preparation for a day of protests.
“The Governor has authorized active-duty state troopers to conduct training to ensure the Guard is ready to respond if necessary to help keep people safe,” Youngkin spokesman Peter Finocchio wrote in a statement to ILM.
Texas Newsroom reported In a statement, Abbott said: “Violence and destruction will never be tolerated in Texas. Texas will deter criminal acts and work with local law enforcement to arrest anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property.”
Talking to Connecticut PublicThe state's chief organizer, Jim Chapdelaine, reiterated the group's commitment to peace and the importance of standing up for what you believe in.
“There are powers that be who would rather we all just stay in our houses and, I don’t know, take up crocheting,” Chapdelaine said in an interview Tuesday. “It is very important to build community, solidarity and unity. [and] It is especially important to do this in a very peaceful way.”
