Protesters spanning all age groups have taken to the streets en masse for No Kings rallies across the United States, denouncing what they view as authoritarian tendencies and unbridled corruption of US President Donald Trump.
Organisers said seven million people attended protests spanning New York to Los Angeles, with demonstrations popping up in small cities across the US heartland and even near Trump's home in Florida.
By all accounts, the demonstrations were largely festive, often featuring inflatable characters and marchers dressed in costumes.
Protesters at the No Kings protest in Newark, Delaware. Source: AAP / William Bretzger / Delaware News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK / Imagn Images / Sipa USA
Little, if any, lawlessness was reported.
What are the No Kings protests?
The protests reflect growing unease among many Americans, mainly on the left of the political spectrum, to developments such as the criminal prosecution of Trump's perceived political enemies, his militarised immigration crackdown and the sending of National Guard troops into US cities — a move Trump has said was aimed at fighting crime and protecting immigration agents.
As his administration has tried to rapidly implement its policies, Trump has installed inexperienced loyalists across the ranks of his administration and sought to apply pressure on the news media, law firms and higher education.
"There is nothing more American than saying, 'We don't have kings' and exercising our right to peacefully protest," said Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, a progressive organisation that led planning of the events.
Demonstrators dressed up at the No Kings protest at the national Mall in Washington DC. Source: AP / Jose Luis Magana
Events in Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, Chicago and Seattle also drew crowds that each appeared to encompass thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people.
On the West Coast, more than a dozen rallies occurred around the Los Angeles area, including the primary site downtown.
An attendee of Los Angeles' No Kings protest dressed up as Uncle Sam, a figure commonly used to personify the United States or its federal government. Source: Getty / Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
More than 25,000 protested peacefully in San Diego, police said.
'Against the overreach of power'
The rallies were boisterous but orderly, with police largely keeping a low profile.
In Washington, demonstrators filled the street as they marched toward the US Capitol, chanting and carrying signs, US flags and balloons. Many people — and their dogs — wore costumes in a peaceful, carnival-style atmosphere.
"Lock her up" — a catch-cry of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign against Hillary Clinton — is reinterpreted by a protester in Phoenix, Arizona. Source: Getty / Alexandra Buxbaum /Sipa USA
Protester Aliston Elliot, wearing a Statue of Liberty headpiece and holding a No Wannabe Dictators sign, said: "We want to show our support for democracy and for fighting (for) what is right. I'm against the overreach of power."
As in many other places, Washington DC's No Kings rally featured costumed protesters. Source: Getty / Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call / Sipa USA
"I don't understand what's going on in this nation right now," said Gamez, who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. "As a Marine Corps vet, I understand that the United States was founded upon action against tyrants, against kings."
A protester with a somewhat corny message at the No Kings protest in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Source: AAP / USA TODAY / Samantha Laurey / Argus Leader / Imagn Images / Sipa USA
"I'm embarrassed that we have federal agents in masks arresting people in the streets. I'm embarrassed that we're talking about using the military against civilians. I'm embarrassed that it's OK to lie and make stuff up," Brice said. "So even though I'm a lifelong Republican, I don't support the direction the party is going."
Trump, Republicans respond
Trump's response to Saturday's events was typically aggressive, with the US president posting a series of AI-generated videos to his Truth Social platform depicting him as a king.
In one, he is shown wearing a crown and piloting a fighter jet that drops what appears to be faeces on anti-Trump protesters.
Credit: Truth Social / Donald J Trump
His surrogates were in fighting form, too, with House Speaker Mike Johnson deriding the rallies as being "Hate America" protests.
"You're going to bring together the Marxists, the Socialists, the Antifa advocates, the anarchists and the pro-Hamas wing of the far-left Democrat Party," he told reporters.
Other Republicans have blasted Democrats and marches like No Kings as motivating people to carry out political violence, especially in the wake of the September assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk, a close confidant of Trump.
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More than 300 grassroots groups helped organise Saturday's marches, Greenberg said.
The American Civil Liberties Union said it has given legal training to tens of thousands of people to act as marshals at the various marches, and those people were also trained in de-escalation.
No Kings ads and information have blanketed social media to drive turnout.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a progressive independent, and US representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat, have backed the marches along with former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Trump.
Senior Democratic lawmakers also voiced support for the movement.
"Today's No Kings rallies are an affirmation of what America is all about. We are a democracy," Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said on X.
US House of Representatives minority leader Hakeem Jeffries added separately, "Peaceful protest against an out-of-control President is the American way."
In June, 2,000-plus No Kings protests took place, mostly peacefully, on the same day that Trump celebrated his 79th birthday and held a military parade in Washington.
Dana Fisher, a professor at American University in Washington DC, and the author of several books on American activism, had earlier forecast that Saturday could see the largest protest turnout in modern US history.
She expected that over three million people would take part based on registrations and participation in the June events.
Fisher said the protests were "not going to change Trump's policies. But it might embolden elected officials at all levels who are in opposition to Trump."
