Third No Kings protests to see millions across US push back on Trump administration

Millions of Americans are expected to take to the streets on Saturday for the No Kings protests against the Trump administration. More than 3,000 events are planned in all 50 states, plus in 16 countries, according to a coalition of organizers that includes “anti-authoritarian” groups Indivisible and 50501, labor unions and other grassroots organizations.“I would expect March 28 to be the biggest protest in American history,” said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible.Saturday’s protest will be the third No Kings; the last one in October drew 7 million people nationwide. A “flagship” event will be held in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St Paul, in recognition of residents’ resistance to the surge of Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents that descended on the cities this winter. The St Paul rally will feature Senator Bernie Sanders, actor Jane Fonda and musicians Bruce Springsteen and Joan Baez.More than two-thirds of participants who have RSVP’d are in “outside of major urban centers”, including Republican-controlled areas and bellwether counties, said Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, at a press conference on Thursday.A multiplicity of stressors is expected to bring out protesters across issues, organizers said, from ICE raids to voting rights threats. “Since the last No Kings, we’re seeing higher gas prices and groceries, all while there’s an illegal war in Iran,” said Sarah Parker, the executive director of Voices of Florida and a national coordinator for the 50501 movement. “The people of America are pissed.”The No Kings coalition has repeatedly emphasized the “nonviolent” nature of the day of action. Parker noted that leaders were being trained in de-escalation. The No Kings website states that participants are not allowed to bring any weapons, including legally permitted ones. During the first No Kings Day in June, one Salt Lake City protester was killed and another was injured by a local 50501 “peacekeeper” volunteer who saw the latter carrying a firearm, even though doing so is legal under Utah law.Though Trump has backed off his explicit disparaging of the No Kings protests, his administration continues to target and federally prosecute anti-ICE protesters, with nine people found guilty of charges of “antifa” terrorism in a recent Texas trial over a Fourth of July demonstration outside a detention facility. In January, Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed by federal immigration agents as they were documenting the agents’ activities.During the press conference, organizers were asked about reports of ICE agents putting boots on the ground at Saturday’s protests – placing a higher level of risk for undocumented and other marginalized protesters. (Last year, journalist Mario Guevara was detained and ultimately deported after livestreaming the June No Kings protest.) Deirdre Schifeling, American Civil Liberties Union’s chief political and advocacy officer, advised that any threats of ICE presence were an intimidation tactic and directed attenders to the “know your rights” materials on the ACLU’s site.Organizers have repeatedly emphasized that No Kings Day is only one aspect of broader efforts toward building people power and fighting the Trump administration – and that that work “doesn’t end after March 28”.“Our third No Kings Day of Action will happen on Saturday, and Trump will still be in the White House,” said Greenberg. “That is why we see No Kings as not only a powerful day of defiance but an organizing catalyst to support local organizing everywhere.”