Massive demonstrations are expected in New York City on Saturday in protest of President Donald Trump and his administration. The nationwide mobilization — dubbed “No Kings Day” — is set to overlap with Trump’s planned military parade in Washington.
The parade, which is scheduled for Flag Day, is set to commemorate the Army’s 250th anniversary. Saturday is also Trump’s 79th birthday. Organizers of “No Kings Day” say they’re “not gathering to feed his ego,” but rather building a grassroots movement to stop his policies and politics.
“No Kings is a nationwide day of defiance. From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism—and show the world what democracy really looks like,” reads the main page of NoKings.org, the central collective organizing Saturday’s protests. “We’re not gathering to feed his ego. We’re building a movement that leaves him behind.”
The protests build on demonstrations that occurred on April 5, when millions of Americans took to the streets to speak out against Trump during the “Hands Off” movement.
The No Kings website shows a map displaying hundreds of planned protests across the country, with demonstrations planned in each of the 48 contiguous states.
In New York City, protests are planned across the five boroughs, including Bryant Park in Manhattan, MacDonald Park in Queens, Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, and on Victory Boulevard on Staten Island. Though there are no officially planned No Kings actions in the Bronx, there are two in Yonkers.
The protests come as demonstrations grow in Los Angeles, New York, and across the nation over a spike in Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. In New York City, elected officials and advocates have sounded the alarm over a string of ICE arrests at immigration court houses by plainclothes, masked officers.
Trump has deployed 700 active duty Marines and 4,000 members of the National Guard to Los Angeles amid anti-ICE protests, which Trump has condemned as violent and interfering with ICE’s detention of “illegals.” A protest at Foley Square against recent ICE raids continued well into the night on Tuesday, with the New York Police Department making 80 arrests as demonstrators clashed with police.
Trump’s parade has faced widespread criticism from Democrats, who have accused Trump of prioritizing pageantry over service members and wasting taxpayer dollars on showmanship. Trump said on Tuesday that those attempting to interfere with Saturday’s parade will be met with “very big force.”
No Kings has no events planned in Washington on Saturday.
“Instead of allowing this birthday parade to be the center of gravity, we will make action everywhere else the story of America that day: people coming together in communities across the country to reject strongman politics and corruption,” the website reads.
Correction: A previous version of this article named Columbia University and Grace Plaza in Manhattan as locations of protests on Saturday. In fact, these are meeting places for the protests, and Saturday’s Manhattan protest is set to start at Bryant Park.
