No Kings’ protests: Large crowds attend nationwide rallies against the Trump adm
“No Kings” demonstrations have taken place from coast to coast today, with attendees rallying against President Donald Trump’s policies, the rising cost of living and the war with Iran.
• On the ground: West Coast rallies are in full swing, including huge marches in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Throughout the day, crowds have gathered to sing, dance and wave signs in major cities, suburbs and small towns across red and blue states. A marquee event in Minnesota featured a Bruce Springsteen performance and a slate of high-profile speakers.
• Third round: Last year, millions of people attended largely peaceful protests on two “No Kings” days. Since then, Trump’s nationwide immigration enforcement blitz has come and gone in several major cities. Now, Americans are facing skyrocketing gas prices and a flagging economy due to the war.
Classic salsa music reverberated through the streets flanking Los Angeles City Hall as demonstrators waved anti-war signs, donned inflatable animal costumes and marched to protest against President Donald Trump’s policies.
“It’s playful, it’s positive, it’s sending a good message, it’s nonviolent,” one demonstrator wearing a blow-up flamingo costume told CNN’s Julia Vargas Jones. Holding a sign reading “When hate is loud, love must be louder,” she said the protest marked a “opportunity to make a statement and respond with silliness to the silliness (the administration) is doing.”
Taco trucks and hot dog carts lined up as a salsa band performed near Gloria Molina Grand Park, where children danced and cheered despite the near 90 degree Los Angeles heat. Organizers were seen handing out water, though many protestors were spotted opting for the gelato and ice cream being sold by street vendors.
Anti-ICE signs dotted the crowd as Saturday’s “No Kings” demonstration came just months after aggressive immigration raids and the protests they sparked plagued Los Angeles last June.
A smaller group of protestors later gathered along Alameda Street outside of a federal building in downtown LA – a common site for anti-immigration protests in the city – where federal authorities deployed tear gas after demonstrators threw “large concrete blocks, bottles and other objects” over the property’s fence, the Los Angeles Police Department said on X. Multiple people were arrested for not leaving following a dispersal order, it said.