The "No King" anti-Trump protests that brought millions of people to the streets of South Florida and nationwide last June are returning this weekend.
More than 2,600 “No Kings” protests nationally will be held this Saturday — an increase from the roughly 2,000 nationwide demonstrations on June 14. In South Florida, more than a dozen protests are planned from Key West to Palm Beach Gardens. Protest leaders say millions of people are expected; about 5 million turned out in June.
READ MORE: From Mar-A-Lago to Miami, 'No Kings' protesters denounce President Trump and his policies
This weekend's protests again target President Donald Trump and what "No Kings" organizers call his authoritarian policies.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, has described Saturday’s protests as a “hate America rally.”
“No Kings” coalition leaders, during a press conference with reporters Thursday, defended their constitutional right to protest.
”They might try to paint this weekend's events as something dangerous to our society,” said Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer for the American Civil Liberties Union. “But the reality is there is nothing unlawful or unsafe about organizing and attending peaceful protests. It's the most patriotic and American thing you can do.”
The first protests came against the backdrop of the Trump administration deploying troops to Los Angeles to confront immigration activists protesting deportation efforts.
This weekend’s protests target Trump's repeated use of National Guard troops to fight reported crime in some of the nation's biggest cities; Republican redistricting efforts; and not extending Affordable Care Act subsidies.
“ They are terrorizing our immigrant friends and neighbors with their secret police. They are prosecuting political opponents,” said Leah Greenberg, co-founder of the advocacy group Indivisible Project.
“Now, they are trying to smear millions of Americans who are coming out to protest so that they can justify a crackdown on peaceful descent. It is the classic authoritarian playbook.”
Leaders said the protests will be peaceful and span across heavily and sparsely populated cities and towns.
“ This is the underlying theory of the ‘No Kings’ protests for this Saturday: We are gonna turn out an unprecedented numbers and we protect our democracy by vigorously exercising our democratic rights,” said Robert Weissman, co-president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.
To learn more about the protests, visit nokings.org.
