No Kings protests against Trump's policies expected to sweep U.S. on Saturday
Number of rallies has grown throughout the week, spurred by protests against immigration raids
A U.S.-wide demonstration against President Donald Trump, planned for months and to be held Saturday, has ballooned in scope since protests against the administration's immigration raids broke out last week.
Cities across the U.S. and the world are preparing for nearly 2,000 planned "No Kings" rallies this weekend — which were organized in response to the flamboyant military Flag Day parade Trump is holding in Washington, D.C. Flag Day happens to fall on the president's birthday — Trump turns 79 this year.
The number of rallies has grown throughout the week, but there is not one planned for the U.S. capital. Organizers say that they want to draw attention elsewhere.
Though initially unrelated to widespread protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities over the past week, the No Kings "day of defiance" couldn't be more timely, says Vicki Miller, whose group has been planning the Philadelphia No Kings demonstration since April.
"It makes the urgency of everything we're talking about even more clear," said Miller, the Philadelphia leader of Indivisible, an organization that was created after Trump was first elected in 2016.
The No Kings website says the aim of the demonstrations is to take action "to reject authoritarianism" of the current U.S. government.
"They've defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights and slashed our services. The corruption has gone too far," the group writes. The website features a map of the U.S. with black dots showing all the locations where rallies are planned.
Rallies are also being held in other countries in solidarity. In Toronto, a "No Tyrants" demonstration is planned for noon local time across from the U.S. consulate on University Avenue.
Tens of thousands expected in Philadelphia
Organizers like Miller have sought to make a distinction between their rallies and the clashes that have erupted in Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, in recent days.
Trump federalized and deployed California's National Guard without Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom's consent in response to the protests.
The move has been criticized as a display of the very authoritarianism protesters are trying to denounce.
However, No Kings organizers say their plan is to remain on the straight and narrow.
"We've never had any hint of violence in any of our protest rallies in Philadelphia," said Miller, a retired lawyer. "We're working with the city very closely."
Miller said Indivisible is planning for at least 60,000 people to attend its rally Saturday.
There will be 100 volunteer marshals present, who have been trained on de-escalation, and the group holds regular meetings on how to defuse tense situations, Miller said.
But with protests gaining momentum across the U.S. and now elsewhere in the world, U.S. city and state officials are on high alert for what could unfold.
Parade to feature 7,000 troops
Washington, D.C., where the Flag Day parade will take place, has declared the event a "National Special Security Event," with a heavy Secret Service and law enforcement mobilization. The parade will feature more than 7,000 military troops, 150 vehicles and 50 helicopters.
Texas's Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has put his state's National Guard "on standby" ahead of the No Kings rallies.
At a news conference Wednesday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson expressed concern that Trump was "determined to insert chaos" ahead of the rallies.
"Our responsibility is to continue to provide calm and structure to the situation," Johnson said.
He said the city would "protect the fundamental right to protest and demonstrate peacefully, and if individuals work outside of those confines, will hold them accountable."
Tuesday, Trump said he hadn't "even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force."
Protesting 'with the young ones'
Many of the people CBC News spoke with who plan to attend No Kings rallies said they are not regular protesters.
Armida Vicente-Sanchez, a 29-year-old welder who is organizing the No Kings rally in the small city of Dalton, Ga., where she lives, said her rally "has nothing to do with what's going on in L.A. Like, this is our own protest."
"We're not trying to start anything like riots or nothing like that," said Vicente-Sanchez, who says she has family members who fear being targeted by ICE.
For Clara Cáceres Contreras, though, No Kings is nothing new.
The 70-year-old from McAllen, Texas, which sits across the Rio Grande from Reynosa in Mexico, says she has protested Trump every opportunity she's had.
"I go out there and I protest with the young ones and I'm wearing my heels," she said.
Cáceres Contreras said she is dismayed by the Republican Party's immigration policies under Trump.
"They're arresting people that are working. These are working people," she said. "It's like going fishing in an aquarium."
The retired education worker says the immigration raids in Los Angeles have given her "more" motivation to join the Saturday rally in McAllen.
"Absolutely. My sister lives in L.A. Yes ma'am," she said. "I see the people there and I'm with them. They have a voice."
She said she protested the border wall Trump used taxpayer money to build in his first term and that she is now protesting the Flag Day parade he is using taxpayer money to fund.
The U.S. was built on rejecting a monarchy, Cáceres Contreras said, "and he thinks he's the king or something."
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