WASHINGTON DC: Large rallies are happening across the US on Saturday (Mar 28) as part of the “No Kings” protest movement against the policies of President Donald Trump and his administration.
Organisers say that more than 3,200 events are planned in all 50 states for what they hope could be the largest single-day nonviolent protest in US history. The two previous No Kings events attracted millions of participants.
Flagship rallies will take place in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Minnesota’s Twin Cities, but two-thirds of participants are expected from outside major city centres, a nearly 40 per cent jump for smaller communities from the movement’s first mobilisation last June, organisers said.
“The defining story of this Saturday’s mobilisation is not just how many people are protesting, but where they are protesting,” said Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, the group that started the No Kings movement last year and led planning of Saturday’s events.
With midterm elections later this year in the US, organisers say they’ve seen a surge in the number of people organising events and registering to participate in deeply Republican states such as Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Utah.
Competitive suburban areas that have helped decide national elections are seeing “huge” increases in interest, Greenberg said, citing Pennsylvania’s Bucks and Delaware counties, East Cobb and Forsyth in Georgia, and Scottsdale and Chandler in Arizona as examples.
“Voters who decide elections, the people who do the door knocking and the voter registration and all of the work of turning protests into power, they are taking to the streets right now, and they are furious,” she said.
In a statement, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson dismissed the rallies as “Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions” of interest only to journalists.