“No Kings” protests are set to return this weekend, as demonstrators plan to rally against the Trump administration in thousands of cities across the United States on Saturday.
The demonstrations come as the federal government shutdown enters its third week. As House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) criticized the protests as “hate America” rallies, progressive leaders have stood by the protesters’ goals.
“As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the No Kings nonviolent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power belongs to the people,” the group wrote in a press release.
“No Kings” previously held rallies on Flag Day and Presidents Day.
When and where are the protests?
“No Kings” has planned 2,500 protests in 2,200 cities on Saturday, the group told the Washington Examiner, including several international gatherings in cities such as Madrid, Paris, and London.
The group said the goal of Saturday’s rallies is to send a “clear and unmistakable message” that “we are a nation of equals, and our country will not be ruled by fear or force.”
Flagship rallies are set for U.S. cities such as San Francisco; Bozeman, Montana; Kansas City, Missouri; New Orleans; Atlanta; Chicago; Washington; New York; and Boston. National Guard troops will likely still be stationed in Washington and Chicago during the protests.
The Washington protest will be held from noon to 2 p.m. and will be held on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 3rd Street SW on the National Mall. The Metropolitan Police Department has not yet announced which, if any, roads will be closed due to the protest.
Who is part of ‘No Kings’ and what are political leaders saying?
Groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Federation of Teachers, Common Defense, 50501, and Indivisible gathered to organize the “No Kings” movement, which mobilized during President Donald Trump’s second term.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will be headlining the “No Kings” rally in Washington, D.C. Other lawmakers, such as Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), are set to follow him as speakers at the event. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced Thursday he would also be participating in D.C.’s “No Kings” protest this weekend.
Conservatives have rebuked the “No Kings” movement.
“I don’t feel like a king, I have to go through hell to get stuff approved,” Trump told reporters ahead of the Flag Day protest.
Johnson called the Washington protest a “hate America rally” and suggested Democrats are keeping the government shut down partly because of it.
“It’s all the pro-Hamas wing and all the antifa people, they’re all coming out,” Johnson said. “Some of the House Democrats are selling T-shirts for the event. It’s being told to us that they won’t be able to reopen the government until after that rally because they can’t face their rabid base. I mean, this is serious business, hurting real people.”
Johnson was likely referring to Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-CA) collaboration on a “No Kings Here” T-shirt line.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who is set to speak at the No Kings protest in Washington, ripped Johnson’s comments as “un-American.”
“They hate free speech when it isn’t conservative speech, when it isn’t pro-Trump speech,” Murphy said. “If you offer any criticism of this government, then you ‘hate America’? That’s ridiculous, un-American, and unpatriotic.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced Thursday he would also be participating in D.C.’s “No Kings” protest this weekend.
The “No Kings” group slammed Johnson’s assertion in a statement.
“Speaker Johnson is running out of excuses for keeping the government shut down,” the group said. “Instead of reopening the government, preserving affordable healthcare, or lowering costs for working families, he’s attacking millions of Americans who are peacefully coming together to say that America belongs to its people, not to kings.”
SOROS-BACKED GROUP BEHIND ‘NO KINGS’ PROTESTS PRESSURING SENATE DEMOCRATS INTO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) also denounced Johnson’s statement.
“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 Trump to turn us into an authoritarian society.”
