By Mike Pesoli, Matt Brown and Gary Fields
Giant crowds of protesters marched and rallied in cities throughout the U.S. on Oct. 18, for “No Kings” demonstrations decrying what members see as the federal government’s swift drift into authoritarianism below President Donald Trump.
Folks carrying indicators with slogans comparable to “Nothing is extra patriotic than protesting” or “Resist Fascism” packed into New York Metropolis’s Occasions Sq. and rallied by the hundreds in parks in Boston, Atlanta and Chicago. Demonstrators marched by Washington and downtown Los Angeles and picketed outdoors capitols in a number of Republican-led states, a courthouse in Billings, Montana, and at a whole lot of smaller public areas.
Trump’s Republican Social gathering disparaged the demonstrations as “Hate America” rallies, however in lots of locations the occasions seemed extra like a road get together. There have been marching bands, big banners with the U.S. Structure’s “We The Folks” preamble that folks may signal, and demonstrators sporting inflatable costumes, significantly frogs, which have emerged as an indication of resistance in Portland, Oregon.
(Picture Credit score: Unsplash / Liam Edwards)
It was the third mass mobilization since Trump’s return to the White Home and got here in opposition to the backdrop of a authorities shutdown that not solely has closed federal applications and companies however is testing the core steadiness of energy, as an aggressive govt confronts Congress and the courts in ways in which protest organizers warn are a slide towards authoritarianism.
In Washington, Iraq Conflict Marine veteran Shawn Howard mentioned he had by no means participated in a protest earlier than however was motivated to indicate up due to what he sees because the Trump administration’s “disregard for the legislation.” He mentioned immigration detentions with out due course of and deployments of troops in U.S. cities are “un-American” and alarming indicators of eroding democracy.
“I fought for freedom and in opposition to this type of extremism overseas,” mentioned Howard, who added that he additionally labored on the CIA for 20 years on counter-extremism operations. “And now I see a second in America the place we’ve got extremists all over the place who’re, for my part, pushing us to some sort of civil battle.”
Trump, in the meantime, was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
“They are saying they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” the president mentioned in a Fox Information interview that aired early on Oct. 17, earlier than he departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. fundraiser at his membership.
A Trump marketing campaign social media account mocked the protests by posting a computer-generated video of the president clothed like a monarch, sporting a crown and waving from a balcony.
Nationwide demonstrations
In San Francisco a whole lot of individuals spelled out “No King!” and different phrases with their our bodies on Ocean Seaside. Hayley Wingard, who was dressed because the Statue of Liberty, mentioned she too had by no means been to a protest earlier than. Solely lately she started to view Trump as a “dictator.”
“I used to be really OK with every part till I discovered that the navy invasion in Los Angeles and Chicago and Portland — Portland bothered me probably the most, as a result of I’m from Portland, and I don’t need the navy in my cities. That’s scary,” Wingard mentioned.
Tens of hundreds of individuals gathered in Portland for a peaceable demonstration downtown. Later within the day, tensions grew as a number of hundred protesters and counterprotesters confirmed up at a U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement constructing, with federal brokers at occasions firing tear gasoline to disperse the group and metropolis police threatening to make arrests if demonstrators blocked streets.
The constructing has been the location of largely small nightly protests since June — the rationale the Trump administration has cited for attempting to deploy Nationwide Guard troops in Portland, which a federal choose has at the very least quickly blocked.
About 3,500 folks gathered in Salt Lake Metropolis outdoors the Utah State Capitol to share messages of hope and therapeutic after a protester was fatally shot throughout the metropolis’s first “No Kings” march in June.
And greater than 1,500 folks gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, evoking and the town’s historical past of protests and the crucial position it performed within the Civil Rights Motion two generations in the past.
“It simply looks like we’re residing in an America that I don’t acknowledge,” mentioned Jessica Yother, a mom of 4. She and different protesters mentioned they felt camaraderie by gathering in a state the place Trump received almost 65 % of the vote final November.
“It was so encouraging,” Yother mentioned. “I walked in and thought, ‘Listed here are my folks.’”
Organizers hope to construct opposition motion
“Large rallies like this give confidence to individuals who have been sitting on the sidelines however are prepared to talk up,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy mentioned in an interview with The Related Press.
Whereas protests earlier this 12 months — in opposition to Elon Musk’s cuts and Trump’s navy parade — drew crowds, organizers say this one is uniting the opposition. High Democrats comparable to Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer and Impartial Sen. Bernie Sanders are becoming a member of what organizers view as an antidote to Trump’s actions, from the administration’s clampdown on free speech to its military-style immigration raids.
Greater than 2,600 rallies had been deliberate for Oct. 18, organizers mentioned. The nationwide march in opposition to Trump and Musk this spring had 1,300 registered places, whereas the primary “No Kings” day in June registered 2,100.
“We’re right here as a result of we love America,” Sanders mentioned, addressing the group from a stage in Washington. He mentioned the American experiment is “at risk” below Trump however insisted, “We the folks will rule.”
Republican critics denounce the demonstrations
Republicans sought to painting protesters as far outdoors the mainstream and a major purpose for the federal government shutdown, now in its 18th day.
From the White Home to Capitol Hill, GOP leaders referred to as them “communists” and “Marxists.” They mentioned Democratic leaders together with Schumer are beholden to the far-left flank and prepared to maintain the federal government shut to appease these liberal forces.
“I encourage you to observe — we name it the Hate America rally — that can occur Saturday,” mentioned Home Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
“Let’s see who reveals up for that,” Johnson mentioned, itemizing teams together with “antifa sorts,” individuals who “hate capitalism” and “Marxists in full show.”
Many demonstrators, in response, mentioned they had been assembly such hyperbole with humor, noting that Trump typically leans closely on theatrics comparable to claiming that cities he sends troops to are warfare zones.
“A lot of what we’ve seen from this administration has been so unserious and foolish that we’ve got to reply with the identical vitality,” mentioned Glen Kalbaugh, a Washington protester who wore a wizard hat and held an indication with a frog on it.
New York police reported no arrests throughout the protests.
Democrats attempt to regain their footing amid shutdown
Democrats have refused to vote on laws that may reopen the federal government as they demand funding for well being care. Republicans say they’re prepared to debate the problem later, solely after the federal government reopens.
The state of affairs is a possible turnaround from simply six months in the past, when Democrats and their allies had been divided and despondent. Schumer particularly was berated by his get together for permitting an earlier authorities funding invoice to sail by the Senate with out utilizing it to problem Trump.
“What we’re seeing from the Democrats is a few backbone,” mentioned Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, a key organizing group. “The worst factor the Democrats may do proper now’s give up.”
This text was initially revealed by The Related Press. Related Press journalists Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking in Washington, Jill Colvin and Joseph Frederick in New York, Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake Metropolis, Terry Chea in San Francisco, Chris Megerian in West Palm Seaside, Florida, and Invoice Barrow in Birmingham, Alabama, contributed.
