‘No Kings’ protests recap: Millions rallied against Trump, organizers say
While the protests remained largely peaceful, there were several violent outbursts, including in Salt Lake City, where a gunman opened fire and left one person in “life-threatening condition.”
“No Kings” demonstrators marched in hundreds of cities on Saturday to protest what organizers describe as President Donald Trump’s authoritarian agenda, including recent immigration raids that have rattled communities across the country. Millions of people were estimated to have joined the protests in over 2,000 communities.
The protests occurred the same day as a military parade in Washington, D.C., officially commemorating the Army’s 250th anniversary, but seen by many as a spectacle in service of President Donald Trump’s Saturday birthday.
The protests remained largely peaceful, though there were several violent outbursts, including in Salt Lake City, where a gunman opened fire and left one person in “life-threatening condition.” Authorities acted swiftly and apprehended the alleged gunman, as well as two others they believe were involved in the shooting.
Drivers also struck protesters in both San Francisco and Virginia, and a threat against lawmakers in Texas prompted the evacuation of the state capitol building.
The flashes of violence come after a week of chaotic protests in Los Angeles. About 30,000 joined “No Kings” protests around the city on Saturday, largely without incident, though police deployed flash bang grenades, tear gas and officers on horseback to disperse a crowd outside a federal building downtown.
A White House official dismissed the “No Kings” protests as a “complete and utter failure with minuscule attendance.”
From San Fran to Mar-a-Lago: Anger with Trump leads thousands to march for ‘No Kings’ as cops descend on marches
‘Shoot a couple, the rest will go home’: Far-right groups are sharing scary messages ahead of ‘No Kings’ protests
Trump’s military parade was feared to be the stuff of authoritarians. It was more small-town July 4
Protesters crowd into parks and plazas at anti-Trump 'No Kings' demonstrations across the US
Our full report on the nationwide 'No Kings' protest uprising
In cities and small towns across the United States, tens of thousands of people marched to send President Donald Trump a message: They don’t tolerate “kings, tyrants or dictators.”
“No Kings” demonstrations spanned 2,000 locations across the country, marking the largest demonstrations against the Trump administration since the start of his second term. The protests were organized in defiance of Trump’s military parade for the Army’s 250th anniversary which, coincidentally, marked the president’s 79th birthday.
Some 1,000 protesters marched toward Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach with “No Kings” banners, while Los Angeles saw more than 20,000 demonstrators march on the city following a week of unrest over the Trump administration’s anti-immigration agenda.
Protests were largely peaceful with few arrests nationwide and rallies were winding down by late afternoon, but there were reported clashes with police in pockets of the country and several acts of violence apparently targeting demonstrators.
Rhian Lubin has the full story.
Anger with Trump leads thousands to march for ‘No Kings’ as cops descend on marches
Seattle protest features '1.5 miles full of people' and no damage
Seattle’s “No Kings” demonstration appears to be moving through the city without incident, a far cry from 2020 George Floyd protests there that saw the National Guard deployed and activists take over a six-block stretch of the city for weeks.
At least 20,000 marched on San Francisco, organizers say
We now have a rough estimate how many people marched in San Francisco today: at least 20,000, perhaps even 30,000.
That is according to Andy Sheehan of Indivisible SF, one of the march’s organizers, who cautioned that his numbers were only a “guesstimate.”
“At the Hands Off rally [on April 5] we had 17,000, 18,000, and this was way bigger,” Sheehan told The Independent. “Last time, we got everyone into Civic Center before we started speaking. This time we didn’t get everyone in here until after we finished speaking.”
The San Francisco Chronicle similarly estimated that “tens of thousands” had attended the protest.
“People are motivated, they’re feeling like they don’t wanna stay on the sidelines anymore,” said Sheehan.
He added that the brief Secret Service detention of California’s US Senator Alex Padilla for interrupting DHS secretary Kristi Noem at a press conference had angered many people he knows, as well as the ICE raids in Los Angeles and Trump’s deployment of the military in response.
In Los Angeles, 'No Kings' protests join existing unrest
Cities across the U.S. may have mobilized in protest on Saturday for “No Kings” events, but Los Angeles activists have already been in the streets for the last week, challenging the administration’s immigration policies.
On Saturday itself, those two threads intertwined.
Protesters outside a federal building complex reportedly chanted, “Shame on you!” at the Marines and National Guard deployed to the city, as federal troops pushed them back with riot shields.
The Los Angeles “No Kings” protest reportedly drew over 20,000 people.
LAPD orders dispersal of tense protest around federal building
Los Angeles police have ordered demonstrators in front of a federal office complex to disperse.
The site has been a focus of protests for days, and on Saturday, as “No Kings” events took place across the country, activists confronted federal troops outside the complex, shouting, “Shame on you!” as they were pushed back with riot shields.
Police reportedly use riot control weapons to disperse LA protesters
Los Angeles police reportedly are using horses, batons, smoke, and tear gas to clear out protesters downtown, after a dispersal order was issued following clashes with federal troops and activists outside a federal building.
“LAPD is now launching tear gas into the crowd outside federal building,” wrote People City’s Council, a widely followed X account tracking the protests.
Online news outlet Los Angeles Patch, meanwhile, shared a video of demonstrators fleeing riot police on horseback, which included an officer with what appears to be a rubber bullet-launcher in hand.
Trump official blasts 'No Kings' protests as 'utter failure'
Predictably, the Trump administration doesn’t think all that highly of the “No Kings” protests across the country, which have brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets to protest Trump and what critics see as the president’s authoritarian leanings.
“The so-called No Kings protests have been a complete and utter failure with minuscule attendance,” White House director of communications Steven Cheung wrote on X. “It is sad Democrats and liberals would rather support criminals and illegals instead of celebrating the 250th anniversary of our great U.S. Army and Flag Day.”
“But many more Americans are commemorating our brave military men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice and who those continue to serve our country,” he added.
PHOTOS: Demonstrators flee as Los Angeles police gas crowd
Police appeared to deploy riot-control weapons, including rubber bullets and tear gas, against a large crowd of protesters in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon, after a dispersal order was given for a crowd outside a federal building complex.
Photos and videos of the scene captured scores of demonstrators fleeing a massive crowd of assembled officers, including police on horseback.
Police, protesters, media offer varying accounts of chaotic LA protest
We’re still sorting through the details of what is happening on the ground in Los Angeles, where a massive contingent of police has used riot weapons to clear out a large crowd of protesters near a federal building.
Police accused the crowd of failing to comply with a dispersal order around the federal complex, and later said in a statement, “People in the crowd are throwing rocks, bricks, bottles and other objects.”
Media members on the ground, and protesters themselves, said the demonstration around the area had been peaceful, and that there was no clear reason for the escalation in force.
Update: One arrested in Texas after threat to lawmakers prompts Capitol evacuation
One person has been arrested in Texas for allegedly making a threat to Democratic lawmakers planning on attending a rally at the state Capitol building, a threat that caused police to evacuate the state complex earlier today, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
DPS told The Associated Press the individual was arrested after a traffic stop in La Grange, about 65 miles from Austin.
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