PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Demonstrators crowded into streets, parks and plazas across the U.S. on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump before a Washington military parade marking the Army’s 250th anniversary that coincides with the president’s birthday.
Atlanta’s 5,000-capacity “No Kings” rally quickly reached its limit, with thousands more demonstrators gathered outside barriers to hear speakers in front of the state Capitol. In Minnesota, organizers canceled demonstrations as police worked to track down a suspect in the shootings of two Democratic legislators and their spouses.
Intermittent light rain fell as sign-carrying marchers gathered for the flagship rally in Philadelphia's Love Park. They shouted “Whose streets? Our streets!” as they marched to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where they listened to speakers on the steps made famous in the movie “Rocky.”
“So what do you say, Philly?” Democratic U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland shouted to the crowd. “Are you ready to fight back? Do you want a gangster state or do you want free speech in America?”
In some places, organizers handed out little American flags while other demonstrators brought larger versions to wave amid signs that ranged from pro-democracy and immigrant-rights messages to a variety of anti-Trump sentiments.
In Los Angeles, thousands gathered in front of City Hall, hundreds gathered on the lawn in front of Mississippi's state Capitol and marchers in downtown Little Rock walked across a bridge over the Arkansas River.
Protests were planned in nearly 2,000 locations across the country, from city blocks and small towns to courthouse steps and community parks, organizers said, but no events are scheduled in Washington, D.C., where the military parade will take place in the evening.
The 50501 Movement orchestrating the protests says it picked the “No Kings” name to support democracy and speak out against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration.The name 50501 stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement.
The demonstrations come on the heels of protests that flared up across the country over federal immigration enforcement raids that began last week and Trump ordering the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where protesters blocked a freeway and set cars on fire.
Philadelphia
Thousands gathered in downtown Love Park, with organizers handing out small American flags and many people carrying protest signs saying things like “fight oligarchy” and “deport the mini-Mussolinis."
Karen Van Trieste, a 61-year-old nurse who drove up from Maryland, said she grew up in Philadelphia and wanted to be with a large group of people showing her support.
“I just feel like we need to defend our democracy,” she said. She is concerned about the Trump administration’s layoffs of staff at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the fate of immigrant communities and the Trump administration trying to rule by executive order, she said.
A woman wearing a foam Statue of Liberty crown brought a speaker system and led an anti-Trump sing-along, changing the words “young man” in the song “Y.M.C.A.” to “con man.”
One man in Revolutionary War era garb and a tricorn hat held a sign with a quote often attributed to Thomas Jefferson: “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”
Los Angeles
Thousands gathered in front of City Hall in a boisterous crowd, waving signs and listening to a Native American drum circle and dance performances.
Signs included “Protesting is not a crime,” "We carry dreams not danger" and “ICE out of LA.” One demonstrator carried a 2-foot-tall (60-centimeter) Trump pinata on a stick, with a crown on his head and sombrero hanging off his back.
North Carolina
Crowds cheered anti-Trump speakers in Charlotte's First Ward Park and chanted “we have no kings” before marching behind a “No Kings” banner through the city, chanting “No kings, no crowns, we will not bow down" and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go."
Marchers stretched for blocks, led by a group of people holding a giant Mexican flag and bystanders cheering and clapping for protesters along the way.
Jocelyn Abarca, a 21-year-old college student, said the protest was a chance to “speak for what’s right” after mass deportations and the deployment of the National Guard to deal with protesters in Los Angeles last week.
“If we don’t stop it now, it’s just going to keep getting worse,” she said of the Trump administration’s actions.
Minnesota
Before organizers canceled demonstrations in the state, Gov. Tim Walz took to social media to issue a warning after the shootings.
"Out of an abundance of caution my Department of Public Safety is recommending that people do not attend any political rallies today in Minnesota until the suspect is apprehended," he wrote.
Florida
About a thousand people gathered on the grounds of Florida’s old Capitol in Tallahassee, where protesters chanted, “This is what community looks like,” and carried signs with messages like “one nation under distress” and “dissent is patriotic.”
Organizers of the rally explicitly told the crowd to avoid any conflicts with counterprotesters and to take care not to jaywalk or disrupt traffic.
Organizers say that one march will go to the gates of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis warned demonstrators that the “line is very clear” between peaceful demonstration and violence, and not to cross it.
Urging calm and calling out the National Guard
Governors and city officials vowed to protect the right to protest and to show no tolerance for violence. Some urged calm, while Republican governors in Virginia, Texas, Nebraska and Missouri were mobilizing National Guard troops to help law enforcement manage demonstrations.
There will be “zero tolerance” for violence, destruction or disrupting traffic, and “if you violate the law, you’re going to be arrested,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin told reporters Friday.
In Missouri, Gov. Mike Kehoe issued a similar message, vowing to take a proactive approach and not to “wait for chaos to ensue.”
Some law enforcement agencies announced they were ramping up efforts for the weekend. On social media, Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, called for peaceful protests over the weekend, to ensure Trump doesn’t send military to the state.
“Donald Trump wants to be able to say that we cannot handle our own public safety in Washington state,” Ferguson said.
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Associated Press journalists across the country contributed to this report.
Marc Levy And Claudia Lauer, The Associated Press
