Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will be headlining the “No Kings” protest in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.
Of the 2,500 No Kings protests planned across the nation this weekend, one of the flagship events will be held blocks from the White House. From noon to 2 p.m., demonstrators will gather on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 3rd Street SW. Several left-leaning lawmakers have announced they will be attending.
Sanders’s office confirmed to the Washington Examiner that he will headline Saturday’s rally on the National Mall. His announcement comes days after he slammed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for calling the protest a “hate America” rally.
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“No, Speaker Johnson. The No Kings Rally on October 18 is not a ‘hate America’ rally,” Sanders said in a social media post. “In fact, it’s quite the contrary. It’s a ‘love America’ rally. It’s a rally of millions of people all over this country who believe in our constitution, who believe in American freedom, and are not going to allow you and President [Donald] Trump to turn us into an authoritarian society.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) joins Sanders as the only other federal lawmaker set to speak at Saturday’s rally, as of Friday afternoon. Other speakers at the D.C. rally include Deirdre Schifeling of the American Civil Liberties Union; Keya Chatterjee, cofounder of the “Free DC” movement; Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, the cofounders of activist group Indivisible; reporter Mehdi Hasan; and Bill Nye, “the Science Guy,” per the No Kings press team.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has said he plans to participate in a “No Kings” rally this weekend, but did not specify whether he planned to attend the Washington, D.C., or New York event.
“I will join the marchers to celebrate what makes this country so great,” Schumer said on Thursday. “I urge Americans [to] speak out, use your voice, and exercise your right to free speech. And, of course, there should be no violence from either side.”
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said Friday that his schedule depends on what happens with the government shutdown, but left open the possibility of attending a No Kings rally.
“I support the right of every single American to participate in the rallies that are going to take place this week,” Jeffries said. “Showing up to express dissent against an out-of-control administration: that’s as American as motherhood, baseball, and apple pie. That’s the First Amendment.”
