Millions to join nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump administration

Americans across all 50 states will participate in coordinated “No Kings” protests against the Trump administration on Saturday, united by concerns that the country is sliding toward authoritarianism, according to a Guardian report.

Organisers expect millions to attend demonstrations scheduled in more than 2,700 locations, from small towns to major cities, marking the second national mobilisation of the No Kings coalition.

The first protests in June constituted one of the largest single days of demonstration in US history.

The protests come amid heightened tensions as the Trump administration has attempted to deploy federal troops to several cities and increased the presence of immigration agents.

Critics say the president is seeking to criminalise dissent by targeting left-leaning organisations he claims support terrorism or political violence.

“What’s most important as a message for people to carry is that the president wants us to be scared, but we will not be bullied into fear and silence,” said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, one of the protest organisers.

“It’s incredibly important for people to remain peaceful, to stand proud and to say what they care about, and not to be cowed by that fear”.

The coalition has identified several “anchor cities” for the October 18 demonstrations: Washington DC, San Francisco, San Diego, Atlanta, New York City, Houston, Honolulu, Boston, Kansas City, Bozeman, Chicago and New Orleans.

Several prominent politicians are expected to participate, including Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer and Chris Murphy and independent Senator Bernie Sanders.

Organisers emphasised their commitment to nonviolent resistance, noting that tens of thousands of participants have received training in safety and de-escalation tactics.

Some state officials are taking preemptive measures. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced plans to deploy the state’s National Guard to Austin ahead of the demonstrations.

The Trump administration and its allies have characterised the No Kings protests as anti-American and led by “antifa”, while claiming the demonstrations are prolonging the government shutdown. More than 200 organisations have endorsed the protests.

Organisers have focused their message on the slogan that “the US has no kings”, highlighting concerns about what they describe as Trump’s authoritarian tendencies.

They cite the president’s deployment of federal forces to cities, his statements about wanting a third term, his administration’s defiance of court orders, and deportations allegedly conducted without due process.

The June No Kings protests drew between 2 and 4.8 million participants nationwide, according to the Harvard Crowd Counting Consortium, making them likely the second-largest single day of demonstrations since Trump took office, surpassed only by the 2017 Women’s March.

(information from The Guardian/image source: Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)