Democracy defenders took to the streets Saturday in big cities and small towns from coast to coast and around the world to protest President Donald Trump's authoritarianism and to show the world that "America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people."
Organizers said that more than 2,700 No Kings rallies are scheduled in every state and more than a dozen nations, in what could be the “largest protest in US history” in one day. Saturday's demonstrations followed June 14 No Kings protests that drew millions of people.
“I think that this is going to be a stronger push than the last one,” Hunter Dunn of 50501, a progressive organization that is one of the event's organizers, told The New York Times.
“I’m seeing more of an emphasis on the understanding that this is not just a sprint,” he added. “We are seeing a difference in the understanding of the general public, that this is a marathon.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) headlined a massive rally in Washington, DC.
" Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House, called these rallies 'Hate America' events," Sanders told a huge crowd in Washington, DC. "Why does he have it wrong? Millions of Americans are coming out today not because they hate America, we're here today because we love America."
"Today... in this dangerous moment in American history, our message is... no, President Trump, we don't want you or any other king to rule us," Sanders continued. "We will not move toward authoritarianism in America. We the People will rule!"
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) also spoke at the DC rally, telling the crowd that "the truth is that Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America."
"The truth is that he is enacting a detailed, step-by step plan to try to destroy all of the things that protect our democracy—free speech, fair elections, an independent press, the right to protest," Murphy continued.
"But the truth is also this: He has not won yet, the people still rule in this country," the senator added. "And today, all across America, in numbers that may eclipse any day of protest in our nation's history, Americans are saying loudly and proudly that we are a free people."
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) fired up an enthusiastic crowd in Seattle, affirming that "we will not back down, we will not give in" to Trump's authoritarianism and lawlessness.
"It would be easy to look around us at what's happening and throw up our hands, be angry, be frustrated, blame someone else, or just disengage, because there's too much hate and corruption, cruelty, and violence," Jayapal said.
She added that Trump is "clearly not well," calling him a "wannabe king who dehumanizes trans people and immigrants, and Black people, and poor people to distract you from his real agenda."
Jayapal decried a president "who sends National Guard troops and masked men into our cities, militarizing our streets, kidnapping and disappearing tens of thousands of people from our communities, and trying very hard to suppress our dissent."
"We are not caving in," she said. "Right now, let's show the power of this movement... We are the people's movement that will save our democracy."
Saturday's rallies were peaceful, joyous events, replete with signs inscribed with creative slogans like "Our Huddled Masses Will Defeat Your Fascist Asses" and "No Crown for the Clown!"
In Chicago, rallygoers erected a paper machete guillotine in Grant Park, where Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" blared from loudspeakers.
“No sign is big enough to list all the reasons I’m here," 26-year-old protester Mackayla Reilley told the Chicago Sun-Times. “With everything going on in Chicago, we have to protect immigrants [and] we have to stand up against Trump. We can’t normalize this type of polarization and this type of partisanship.”
In Nashville, Tennessee, 9-year-old Iris Spragens who was attending a rally with her parents, told the Tennessee Lookout that she wished country music icon Dolly Parton were president.
“We don’t want Trump to be king because he can be mean to a lot of immigrants and he kicks out a lot of immigrants,” Spragens said.
Wendy MacConnell, a grandmother who also attended the Nashville protest, told the Lookout that Trump and Republicans are "trying to whitewash this to make it seem like America doesn’t want this—but look around, look around at all these people."
In Pueblo, Colorado, around 2,000 people rallied at the Pueblo County Government Lawn.
“What the community is doing here today is coming together and saying we won’t take this, we want to be listened to and the people we elect should be listening to the people who vote them in,” 23-year-old Sydney Haney told KRCC, explaining that she was attending to protest US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abducting members of her community and attacks on the Constitution, reproductive rights, and healthcare.
In Bangor, Maine, progressive congressional candidate Matt Dunlap told the crowd: “A dangerous time is again upon us. It is bad, and it can get worse, as Trump and his henchmen take our democracy apart, we are called by our future to rescue it."
“We can and must do more," Dunlap added. "We owe it to ourselves and the future of this nation to be bold and not afraid, to be hopeful and not despondent, to strive for our independence and reject subjugation by a king.”
In Atlanta, protester Linda Kelley told Fox 5 that "we are so close to being Germany, 1938, and it’s so terrifying."
"I never thought in my lifetime we’d be somewhere like this," she added. "People don’t realize what will happen if we don’t stand up."
Democratic San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre told KPBS in downtown San Diego that “I am here today in solidarity, so that we cannot continue to accept that our constitutional rights continue to be eroded and taken away from us."
“We have the right to free speech, we have the right to free press, we have the right to have our families not be separated in the dark of night and dragged away," Aguirre added.
