Parade and protests: “No Kings”: nationwide protests against Trump

In the largest protest wave against President Donald Trump’s policy so far, people have taken to the streets across the United States. The organizers spoke of more than five million participants in over 2,100 cities on the day of Trump’s military parade in Washington.

The demonstrations ran on Saturday under the motto “No Kings” (no kings). The participants accused Trump authoritarian appearance and criticized his migration policy with the large -scale deportation campaigns.

Tear gas in Los Angeles

The protests remained mostly peaceful. In the city center of Los Angeles, however, the situation heated up in the afternoon. Tear gas was used on an authority building to push back demonstrators. According to the police, stones and bottles were thrown out of the crowd. Several protesters were arrested in New York, as the broadcaster CNN reported. In the state of Minnesota, the protest after attacks on two politicians of the Democratic Party was canceled.

Meanwhile, Trump had a military parade organized in Washington on Saturday. The occasion is the 250th day of foundation of the US army. But it is also the 79th birthday of the US President. According to surveys, a large part of the US population is against the parade. In Trump’s Republican party, on the other hand, she finds approval.

“This is how democracy looks”

In the anti-trump protests, thousands of demonstrators defied the rain in New York. According to the first estimates of the organizers, 200,000 people went on the streets. Again and again they chanted: “This is how democracy looks” and demanded that Trump be removed, as a dpa reporter reported. The work of the ICE immigration police was criticized on many signs, some wore inscriptions like: “If I want a dictator, I ask my cat.”

There were also large crowds on TV pictures in cities such as Atlanta, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. In the coastal city of Santa Monica, which borders Los Angeles directly, a dpa reporter observed several thousand demonstrators. The mood was good, music was played over loudspeakers. Again and again the reputation “Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Donald Trump Has got to go” could be heard (such as: Donald Trump has to go). Sluggers such as “Fuck Ice” were less common. The ICE authority had been criticized for its raids and arrests.

“We do not allow dictators”

In the west coast metropolis of San Francisco and in the neighboring town of Oakland, thousands of people took to the streets on protest trains under a blue sky. On the Ocean Beach, an urban beach in San Francisco, hundreds of demonstrators had positioned themselves so that they have the words “No King!” formed in the sand.

Prominates also marched. The actor Mark Ruffalo, known as Hulk actor in “Marvel” films, was there in New York. The actresses Glenn Close, Anna Kendrick and Tessa Thompson published videos of the protests on their Instagram accounts. The TV presenter Jimmy Kimmel demonstrated with his parents in San Francisco in a T-shirt with the call “Make America Good Again” (makes America good again)-based on the Maga slogan of the Trump supporters.

The mayor of Oakland, Barbara Lee, said at a rally: “We are here to remind our country that this is a democracy. No kings allowed,” channed the politician. “We do not allow dictators in a democracy.” The mayor of San Francisco, Daniel Lurie, had previously called for peaceful protests. No violence and a destructive approach will be tolerated, Lurie warned.

In Florida, protesters were stopped by the police on the way to Trump’s residence Mar-A-Lago. No “no-king” events were planned in the capital Washington, but the coalition “Refuse Fascism” (rejected fascism) organized a smaller demonstration. In Miami there was a counter demo in which the participants congratulated Trump for his birthday, as the broadcaster NBC reported.

Relatives of the national guard used by Trump emphasized in Los Angeles: “We are here to protect buildings and officials – and the right after the first constitutional additive.” They showed understanding that residents of the city are upset about their presence.