(AFP) – Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in the northern US city of Minneapolis on Saturday as part of the national “No Kings” movement, months after it was wracked with protests due to federal immigration raids. The January raids led to the deaths of two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both at the hands of federal agents, making the city a flashpoint of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Minneapolis hosted the flagship event for the third “No Kings” protest since the grassroots movement kicked off last year, in protest of Trump’s strongman political leadership and right-wing agenda. Organizers later said an estimated 200,000 people went to the event. Famed US musician Bruce Springsteen headlined the rally in neighboring “Twin City” capitol St. Paul, during which he played his song “Streets of Minneapolis,” which he wrote in tribute to Good and Pretti shortly after their deaths. “Their bravery, their sacrifice and their names will not be forgotten,” Springsteen said about the two deceased Americans.
At the rally, thousands chanted the slogan: “no Kings, no ICE, no war!” “Your strength and your commitment told us that this is still America, and this reactionary nightmare and the invasions of American cities will not stand,” Springsteen told the crowd.
Pamela Sinness, 73, told AFP she attended the rally because she believes “in equal rights for all people, including the immigrants who come to our country.” “It feels wonderful to see all the like-minded people gathered here, because the people of Minnesota were very traumatized by the violence and the disrespect shown to all people, and the murders in our streets of Renee Good and Alex Pretti,” she said.
Among the throngs of people, many carried signs and banners with protest slogans, including some as simple as “ICE OUT,” in reference to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) which carries out Trump’s immigration agenda. From the rally stage, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, thanked the crowd for standing up to Trump, who he dubbed a “wannabe dictator.”
Leftist US politician Bernie Sanders also addressed the Minnesota rally, telling attendees: “We will never accept a president who is a pathological liar, a kleptocrat and a narcissist who is undermining the Constitution of the United States and the rule of law every day.” Gina Bilotta-Racelis, who attended the fanfare, said Trump is “incompetent” and that “he has no idea what he’s doing.”
Amid the escalating Middle East war spurred by US-Israeli strikes on February 28, the 73-year-old protester said Trump “should follow the rules and the laws like everyone else.” Between the Iran conflict and its economic fallout, including soaring oil prices, as well as the controversial immigration raids, Bilotta-Racelis said she thinks Republicans and their narrow majority in Congress will not survive the November midterm elections. “I think they’ll lose,” she said. “If you’re watching the polls, you can see it happening day by day.”
– Kerem YUCEL, with Romain FONSEGRIVES in Los Angeles
© 2024 AFP
