‘Constitution is not optional’: What are ‘No Kings’ protests in US?
The “No Kings” protests in the US on Saturday was the third mass mobilisation since Trump returned to the White House in January, and it comes in the backdrop of a government shutdown which is close to completing three weeks.
The No Kings protest on June 14 was one of the largest demonstrations in the history of the US. (Photo: AP)
Huge crowds of protesters marched and rallied across several cities in the United States on Saturday, including New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles for “No Kings” demonstrations against the federal government’s swift transformation into authoritarianism under President Donald Trump.
New York City’s iconic Times Square saw thousands of protesters rally with slogans such as “Nothing is more patriotic than protesting” or “Resist Fascism”. The streets and subway entrances in cities across the US were packed with protesters holding signboards like “Democracy not Monarchy” and “The Constitution is not optional”. Trump allies accused the protesters of being aligned with the far-left Antifa movement and termed it “the hate America rally”.
Crowds gather to listen to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., during a No Kings protest in Washington. (AP Photo)
The “No Kings” protests in the US on Saturday was the third mass mobilisation since Trump returned to the White House in January, and it comes in the backdrop of a government shutdown which is close to completing three weeks. The shutdown has closed federal programmes and services and is testing Trump administration’s balance of power, as the way in which the aggressive executive has confronted the Congress and courts, the protest organisers warn, is a slide toward authoritarianism.
Nationwide demonstrations
In San Francisco, hundreds of protesters spelled out “No King” and other phrases through their bodies on Ocean Beach. One of the protesters, Haley Wingward, who was dressed as the Statue of Liberty, said she has never been to a protest before and that she has started viewing President Trump as a “dictator”. “I was actually OK with everything until I found out about the military invasion in Los Angeles and Chicago and Portland…and I don’t want the military in my cities. That’s scary,” she was quoted by AP as saying.
WOW! Protesters created a HUGE human sign on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach reading “No Kings YES on 50” to support California’s Prop 50 and stand up against Donald Trump’s fascist regime pic.twitter.com/NbUnQk6ZZB
After a protester was fatally shot during the first “No Kings” protest rally earlier in June, over 3,500 protesters gathered in Salt Lake City outside the Utah State Capitol and shared messages of home and healing. More than 1,500 people gathered in Birmingham, Alabama, to take part in the “No King” march and evoked the city’s history of protests and the critical role it played in the Civil Rights Movement generations ago.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) said on Saturday that more than 100,000 people had gathered in the city’s five boroughs, and stated that no protest-related arrests were carried out by the authorities. A police officer in Times Square estimated that about 20,000 people marched down 7th Avenue.
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Organisers hope to build opposition movement
The protests earlier this year against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) job cuts and Trump’s military parade drew thousands of demonstrators. Now, the organisers have said that the “No King” protest this time is uniting the opposition.
Dee Cahill of Margate, Fla., holds a “No Kings” sign as she participates in a pro-democracy, anti-Trump protest outside Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. (Photo: AP)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders have joined the protests and organisers view it as an antidote to Trump’s actions, including the administration’s crackdown on free speech to its military-style immigration raids.
The organisers informed that more than 2,600 rallies were planned on Saturday. “Big rallies like this give confidence to people who have been sitting on the sidelines but are ready to speak up,” Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy said, AP reported.
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The No Kings protest on June 14 was one of the largest demonstrations in the history of the US. (Photo: AP) 
