Oct. 18 (UPI) — Several million people plan to participate Saturday in more than 2,500 “No Kings” rallies throughout the United States in what organizers are billing as the largest single-day protest in modern history.
The first “No Kings’ events, in opposition to President Donald Trump, was on June 14, when there were more than 2,000 events drawing more than 5 million people. A military parade in Washington, D.C., also took place that day.
“I think what you’ll see on No Kings II in October is a boisterous, joyful crowd expressing their political opinions in a peaceful, joyous way,” Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin told USA Today. “People with dogs, people with kids, people with funny signs, music, dancing, laughing, community building, and a sense of collective effervescence that comes when you gather with a lot of people with a shared purpose.”
The events are being run by a coalition of organizations that also include the American Civil Liberties Union.
“No thrones. No crowns. No Kings,” states the “No Kings’ website, which lists event locations. “Millions of us are rising again to show the world: America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people.”
The first events are scheduled for 11 a.m. EDT, including a march in New York City. One in Washington is set for noon and in Chicago at 1 p.m. EDT. Hours later, events will take place in western time zones.
Events also occurred in Europe, including outside the U.S. embassy in Berlin, Germany.
Britannica lists the largest single-day protest in the United States as occurring on April 22, 1970, drawing an estimated 20 million on the first Earth Day. Hands Across America drew 5 million to 7 million on May 25, 1986, with the first “No Kings” listed as third. The Women’s March, one day after Trump first became president on Jan. 21, 2017, drew an estimated 4.6 million.
Nonprofit organizer Indivisible Project said the protests will be “nonviolent action” with people trained in safety and de-escalation.
The Department of Homeland Security has warned law enforcement agencies across the country about the potential for certain events to become violent. According to an intelligence report obtained by CNN, police should look out for demonstrators “with a history of exploiting lawful protests to engage in violence” and attendees with who are perceived to have had paramilitary-like training.
Some state leaders are calling up additional law enforcement.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he’s activated the National Guard to support police “to help keep Virginians safe.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, wrote on X on Thursday, that he “directed the Dept. of Public Safety and National Guard to surge forces into Austin” ahead of the rallies.
“Texas will NOT tolerate chaos. Anyone destroying property or committing acts of violence will be swiftly arrested,” Abbott wrote.
Republican leaders describe the protests are a series of”Hate America” rallies.
“And I encourage you to watch — we call it the ‘Hate America Rally’ that will happen Saturday,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Wednesday. “Let’s see who shows up for that. I bet you see pro-Hamas supporters. I bet you see Antifa types. I bet you see the Marxists in full display, the people who don’t want to stand and defend the foundational truths of this republic.”
“The truth is — what Democrats really want is something Republicans can’t give them. And that is the approval of their far-left base,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday.
Organizers say the Republican stance will backfire.
“I think, if anything, it will increase turnout,” Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer of the ACLU, told ABC News. “I think Americans can really see through these sad attempts to distract attention from the failure of these Republican Congress people and Republican Trump administration to actually address what most Americans want and need from their government.”
Trump, who is spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., said in a Fox Business Network interview that aired Friday: “You know, they’re saying. They’re referring to me as a king. I’m not.”
During Trump’s 11th visit to his county of residence since he became president again, events are planned in Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach and Boca Raton.
A June rally was at the Meyer Amphitheater in downtown West Palm Beach.
The events are coming on the 18th day of the U.S. government shutdown. Senators on Thursday failed for the 10th time to resolve the impasse in votes on Thursday.
“We’ll be in the streets for immigrant families under attack and for voters who are being silenced,” the Progressive Change Campaign Committee wrote in an email obtained by ABC News. “For communities being terrorized by militarized policing. For families who are about to lose their health insurance. And for every single person whose rights are threatened by this administration’s cruelty.”
The political action committee said celebrities will include Jane Fonda, Kerry Washington, John Legend, Alan Cumming and John Leguizamo.
The protests are occurring amid a backdrop of immigration enforcement and a crackdown on crime.
Trump ordered National Guard deployments to Illinois; Memphis, Tenn.; Portland, Ore.; and Washington, D.C. In June, the guard and Marines were deployed to Los Angeles amid protests.