(AFP) – A giant orange balloon depicting Donald Trump in a diaper towered over one “No Kings” protest Saturday, as hundreds of thousands thronged streets across the United States to decry the president’s policies. Protest organizers expected rallies in all 50 US states, calling them the largest since Trump returned to office in January, with the aim of “rejecting authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics, and the militarization of our democracy.” Wielding signs with messages like “No KKKings” and “No crown for the clown,” the protests stood in stark contrast to a massive military parade in Washington on Saturday.
The parade was meant to commemorate the founding of the US Army but also fell on the president’s 79th birthday. As thousands of soldiers marched and tanks rumbled through Washington’s streets, protesters across the country slammed Trump as a “fascist.” “We have a dictator,” said Robin Breed, a 56-year-old retired nurse, in Austin, Texas, where thousands demonstrated while surrounded by hundreds of police and state troopers. “He is trampling on people’s lives, he’s militarizing our streets, he is terrorizing our communities,” he said, insisting it was important “to push back and say it’s our country, not his.”
In New York, tens of thousands of people, many wearing raincoats and carrying colorful umbrellas, marched down Fifth Avenue in a downpour to the sounds of drums, bells, and chants of “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go!” Actors Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo were seen getting drenched among the protesters.
“I’m miserable and outraged about how this administration is destroying the ideals of the American Constitution,” Polly Shulman, a 62-year-old museum employee, told AFP. Holding a sign reading “Protect the Constitution,” she said the most shocking thing was “the illegal deportations of law-abiding residents.” They were “being kidnapped and disappeared and sent to torture prisons in foreign countries.” In March, the Trump administration expelled more than 250 Venezuelans to a mega-prison in El Salvador after accusing them of being members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang, which it has declared a terrorist organization. At least four protesters in New York were arrested at a separate, smaller protest against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, police said.
“I think people are mad as hell,” said Lindsay Ross, a 28-year-old musician who urged others to show “the administration that we’re not going to take this.” Bill Kennedy, a retired psychologist from Pennsylvania, was in Washington protesting a few hours before Trump’s $45 million parade. “I’m tired of the current administration. I think they’re a bunch of fascists,” he said, describing the military parade as “ridiculous.” Suzanne Brown in Boston also lamented the money spent on the parade “for one man’s vanity.”
Massive “No Kings” protests were also underway in Los Angeles, which in recent days has been rocked by demonstrations over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, as federal agents swept up even law-abiding undocumented people. On Saturday, protesters shouted “You are not welcome here” at some of the 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines that Trump dispatched to the city against the wishes of local and state authorities. With a giant orange Trump-in-a-diaper balloon towering above them, thousands filled the city streets, sporting slogans like “No faux-king way” and “Impeach Trump.” Members of the Russian feminist protest and performance art group Pussy Riot held up a large banner in front of city hall warning: “It’s beginning to look a lot like Russia.”
After a day of largely peaceful protests, police on Saturday evening unexpectedly began moving people away from the protest area, igniting confusion and anger among demonstrators caught off guard and unsure of where to go. Police on horseback pushed crowds back as law enforcement fired tear gas and flash-bang grenades hours ahead of an 8:00 pm (0300 GMT) curfew. A police spokeswoman said a “small group of agitators” had begun throwing rocks, bottles, and fireworks at officers, prompting the decision to order the crowd to disperse. If people refused to leave, “we will make arrests,” she said, adding: “We have been patient all day.”
There was unrest elsewhere, too, with at least one person “critically injured” in a shooting at a demonstration in the western US city of Salt Lake City, police said, with local media reporting the incident took place at a “No Kings” rally. In Virginia, police said a man in Culpeper “intentionally” rammed his car into a group of demonstrators as they left an anti-Trump event. No injuries were reported.
– Andrea Bambino, with AFP bureaus
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