In big cities and small towns across the world, protesters gathered for rallies against President Trump and his policies and actions, with the self-stated goal of fighting dictatorship.
Demonstrators, including elected officials and community leaders, chanted defiant messages and carried homemade signs that condemned the war in Iran, threats against voting rights and the White House’s mass deportation push, among other topics.
One of the largest rallies took place outside Minnesota’s Capitol, where the singer Bruce Springsteen performed “Streets of Minneapolis,” a song he wrote to protest the immigration crackdown that led to the fatal shootings of two American citizens by federal agents in January.
“They picked the wrong city,” Mr. Springsteen told a crowd of thousands, adding that “these invasions of American cities will not stand.”
In Washington, D.C., some protesters marched to the military base where Stephen Miller, the White House official overseeing the mass deportation push, has been residing. Some chanted, “Stephen Miller’s got to go,” and “We’ve got the people outside your door.”
Protesters marched down small town main streets and thoroughfares, many bundled up to withstand temperatures in the 30s and 40s. Attendees at small gatherings, including one in Richmond, Ky., waved American flags as drivers signaled their support by honking. In Atlanta, protesters chanted for an end to immigration raids.
Organizers expect the demonstrations in the United States to draw both small groups and crowds of hundreds of thousands, featuring regular people and global superstars speaking out against what they see as overreach by the Trump administration in areas including immigration, elections, health care, the environment and war. Similar demonstrations, focused on denouncing conservative policies, are planned for around the world.
Put together by a coalition of activist groups under the banner “No Kings,” this is the third such countrywide protest in the past 10 months, at a time when war in Iran has created a global energy crisis, disrupted critical components of the food supply chain, and sent stocks tumbling.
It also comes as federal lawmakers remain at loggerheads in a protracted fight over funding for immigration enforcement operations. That partial government shutdown has meant airport screening agents haven’t been receiving paychecks, leading many to call out or quit, causing hourslong waits at the security checkpoints of many airports.
A spokeswoman for the White House, Abigail Jackson, said in a statement on Thursday that “the only people who care about these Trump derangement therapy sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them.”
The protests, organizers have said, intentionally lack a single, specific demand but rather seek to harness energy on a wide variety of grievances regarding Mr. Trump and his policies.
In Minnesota — where the Trump administration carried out its latest immigration crackdown over the winter — Saturday’s protests featured considerable star power. In addition to Mr. Springsteen, the singer Joan Baez and the actress Jane Fonda were expected to be on hand.
The state’s governor, Tim Walz, gave a fiery address from behind a row of bulletproof glass panels, which underscored fears of political violence. Referring to the president’s oft-stated disdain for Somali immigrants, Mr. Walz said that their grandchildren would remain in the United States long after “the orange clown is in the dustbin of history.”
Here are a selection of scenes.
Omaha, Neb.
Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Like many silver-haired protesters gathered at Auditorium Shores, a riverside park in Austin, Texas, Gilbert Martinez, a 93-year-old Korean War veteran, sees Mr. Trump as reckless and rebellious. And that’s not aligned with the values Mr. Martinez has spent his life preaching.
He calls the attack on Iran a “diversion.”
“That idiot is going to cause a lot of good military people to lose their lives,” he said.
A longtime local business leader, Mr. Martinez is from the Texas Panhandle and says he can trace his family lineage to El Paso. He started Austin’s Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 1973, he said, because in those days, downtown was a “backwater” devoid of Hispanic-owned businesses.
“I’m an American,” Mr. Martinez said. “We didn’t just get here.”
Chicago
Chicagoans gathered at Grant Park, where Saira Bensett, 60, a retired zoological worker, described the turnout as cathartic.
“When I watch the news it’s often too much — the emotions I feel make me feel like I’m alone,” she said. “So I wanted to be here to feel like I’m not by myself.”
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton of Illinois, who is also the Democratic nominee for a Senate seat, was among the speakers. “We all know the power of turning our anger into action,” she said.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
New York City
In New York City, Valerie Tirado said she decided to attend an anti-Trump demonstration for the first time because her son, a Marine, was set to be deployed to the Middle East.
“Trump is using these military men as pawns, just to flex,” said Ms. Tirado, 60, a registered Democrat.
Spouses Michael Bianco and Susan Draper said they had demonstrated in the streets for causes they support since 1968. What struck them most about Saturday’s was how many people their age were on the streets.
“I want to express my disdain,” said Ms. Draper, 77, a retired N.Y.U. urban anthropology professor.
Eileen McHugh, 59, traveled an hour from her Republican-leaning town in Westchester County to attend a protest at Columbus Circle.
“It’s getting worse and worse,” Ms. McHugh said. “Trump has blood on his hands. The whole Republican Party has blood on their hands. Bombing boats in Venezuela and schools in Iran is murder,” she added.
Boise, Idaho
Atlanta
Atlanta
While immigration policy was the focus of past No Kings protests in Atlanta, demonstrators on Saturday drew attention to the war in Iran, the toll the partial government shutdown is taking on air travel and a bill Republicans are championing to tighten voting rules.
“They just keep pushing the limits every day to see how far they can take their regime,” said Alan Reed, 72, who attended the protest using a walker and had a rainbow flag draped over his back. “To see how much authority they can grab, until they can cancel our elections.”
Portland, Ore.
A city councilor, Sameer Kanal, described the throngs of people at a park near downtown as “a sea of Portlanders.” Many turned out wearing the inflatable animal costumes that have made the city’s anti-immigration rallies a viral sensation.
Deana Fredericks, 65, was among the organizers of a group of women who wore outfits inspired by “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a show drawn from the Margaret Atwood novel that depicts a totalitarian society in which women are treated as property. “We’re concerned about women’s rights, but it’s also gone beyond that,” she said, citing the Iran war and voting rights.
Jersey City, N.J.
No Kings protesters gathered at the park at Pier A in Hoboken on the banks of the Hudson River on a chilly morning. A local folk singer, Ed Fogarty, played the classic Bob Dylan protest song “Blowin’ in the Wind.”
Noah Schwartz, 54, one of the organizers of a march from Jersey City to Hoboken, used a bullhorn to lead the crowd in a chant.
“We will not stop our fun, our joy, our democracy,” he said. “Say it once, say it twice! We will not put up with ICE!”
West Bloomfield, Mich.
The No Kings movement debuted in February 2025 on Presidents’ Day. The decentralized coalition had a stronger showing last June, on the day Mr. Trump marked his birthday by ordering the military to stage a large parade in Washington, D.C. The groups reported an even larger turnout in October.
London
In London, demonstrators carried scowling bobbleheads of Mr. Trump; the first lady, Melania Trump; and Vice President JD Vance. Caricatures of Elon Musk, Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem also hovered over the crowd.
Carmen Kingston, a New Yorker who has lived in Britain for a decade, carried a poster with the words “Minab Massacre,” referring to the strike on an elementary school in Iran that killed at least 175 people, most of them children.
The war, she said, is “part of a domestics political climate that includes the erosion of democratic institutions, democratic guardrails and unaccountable violence.”
Lynsey Chutel, Sean Keenan, Wesley Parnell, Mark Bonamo Nate Schweber, Neelam Bohra, Robert Chiarito, Miles G. Cohen, Aaron West and Ramón Ramirez contributed reporting.
Ernesto Londoño is a Times reporter based in Minnesota, covering news in the Midwest and drug use and counternarcotics policy. He welcomes tips and can be reached at elondono.81 on Signal.
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