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29-03-2026
NEW YORK/ PARIS/ LONDON: Millions of people were expected to protest against the Trump administration at more than 3,000 “No Kings” events across the United States. Although organizers do not yet have an exact count of how many people attended, it’s clear that hundreds of thousands of people turned out at rallies in New York City, Washington DC, Minnesota’s Twin Cities, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, Nashville, Dallas, Denver and elsewhere.
At the flagship protest in St Paul, Minnesota, tens of thousands filled the streets around the state capitol to commiserate, mourn and speak out again the Trump administration. Bruce Springsteen sang his song about the death and destruction brought by ICE titled “Streets of Minneapolis”.
Outside the United States, Americans living abroad kicked off the day’s demonstrations alongside their neighbors in France, Portugal, Germany, Italy and Greece. A massive, although unrelated, demonstration against the far-right also took place in the United Kingdom.
In New York City, Letitia James, the state attorney general, Jumaane Williams, the city public advocate, Robert De Niro, Rev Al Sharpton and Padma Lakshmi attended one of serveral marches that converged in Times Square.
The White House and Republican leadership denounced the No Kings day events as “Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions” and “Hate America Rallies”.
Counter-protesters held events in support of the president in a handful of cities, including West Palm Beach, Florida and Dallas, Texas, where leaders of Oath and the Proud Boys were in attendance.
Police in Hawaii have determined that a bomb threat at the state capitol grounds in Honolulu is “no threat to the public”.
Honolulu police announced in a social media post that all roadways have been reopened and the planned No Kings protest has been moved back to the capitol.
Local news reported that police, with state sheriffs assisting, had evacuated the capitol and closed off four streets nearby. A police news release shortly before 10am announced that the protest would be moved to the Iolani Palace grounds while the validity of the bomb threat could be determined.
Honolulu police called in K-9 and special services units to help investigate the bomb threat.
Several thousand people took to the streets Saturday across metro Atlanta, from the middle of the state’s capitol in the heart of Georgia’s liberal politics all the way to Woodstock, a redoubt of red-state Republicanism. More than 50 locations across the state staged No Kings rallies, with about 10,000 people attending protests in Atlanta and suburban areas such as Tucker.
“I’ve been protesting at every protest that comes around,” said Kevon Watson of Tucker. He’s seen a political shift away from Trump in his community over the last year, but is surprised the events of the last year haven’t had an even stronger impact. “I was hoping the Epstein files release would do that, and it seems like most of the people that I talk to really don’t pay attention to the news. They’re just getting it all on TikTok or YouTube or whatever, and it’s like an echo chamber, so they just kind of get reinforcement messaging about how good things are going.”
Protesters in Atlanta marched about three-quarters of a mile down Memorial Drive to the state capitol. Ahead of that march, Rev Raphael Warnock, a US senator, addressed the crowd.
“They made ICE bigger than the Marines,” he said. “They made ICE bigger than all the other federal law enforcement entities combined … I’m afraid that a wannabe king who is busy building himself and his billionaires a ballroom intends to use ICE as his own private army to do his bidding to make him king but he is not a king. This is our land. This belongs to us the people and these powers that he arrogates to himself, these buildings that he tries to put his name on: these things no more belong to him than that fake Nobel peace prize that he had somebody to give him.”
By historical standards, protests in Atlanta have remained enormous. The newest element has been their growth outward into the suburbs and into more conservative communities.
A group of about 500 people rallied on the street near the city green in Sandy Springs, a relatively affluent northern suburb of Atlanta. In a state of deep red and bright blue districts, the area around Sandy Springs splits close to 50-50 by political party.
“Many of my neighbors share my views, and many don’t,” said Kathleen Meitzel, a Sandy Springs resident. “Many who haven’t in the past suddenly do, because the man is so unpopular and so dangerous. Everyone is really beginning to see it if they haven’t already.”
Jenna Pratt of Cumming held a sign that said “No Kings Except Aragorn” referring to the Tolkien novels.
“I think it’s hard to change minds if you’re just having conversations,” she said. “I think it has to be the way we live together, the way we love each other. It has to be on a daily basis. It’s the individual small actions that change people over time, but I think the other part of it is that people have to want to change from the inside.”
Thousands have taken to the streets across California as No Kings protests continue in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Golden state has been in the Trump administration’s crosshairs, with Democratic leaders in the state pushing back against the president including by advocating for the state to redraw its congressional map.
The crowd is starting to thin out but hundreds are still marching through the streets of downtown Chicago as the afternoon light begins to cast dramatic shadows from the adjacent skyscrapers.
In a sea of homemade signs, some protesters are also waving dozens of flags representing Palestine, Ireland, Mexico and Lebanon. “Hands off Gaza now” and “End the war and deportation” chant a group of protesters waving Palestinian flags.
A brass band from LaSalle Street church is posted on the sidewalk playing a jazzed up rendition of This Little Light of Mine against the roar of Chicago’s “El” train system above and people shouting from their apartments several stories up.
I talked to Karime Sepulveda, 25, about what brought her out to protest today.
“I think for me the most personal issue is immigration,” Sepulveda said. “I’m the product of two immigrants who came here to give me a better life.”
For many demonstrators, the influx of ICE and border patrol agents in Chicago last fall during “Operation Midway Blitz” is still fresh in their minds. Federal agents made thousands of arrests, deployed an unprecedented amount of teargas and chemical irritants on protesters, and fatally shot Silverio Villegas Gonzalez and Marimar Martinez.
Proud Boys leader among No Kings counter-protesters
As protesters take to the streets to denounce the Trump administration during No Kings marches today, counter-protesters have organized events in support of the president in a handful of cities as well.
In West Palm Beach, Florida, about 50 Trump supporters verbally clashed with No Kings protesters. CNN reported “some came with mics and flashed ‘Proud Boys’ caps, T-shirts and flags. Police officers were seen deescalating the situation.”
Meanwhile, in Dallas, Trump supporters caused a “major disruption” to the No Kings protest, according to the local Fox station, which added: “Stuart Rhodes, the founder of Oath, and Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, are at the protest.” Both men were convicted for their roles in the January 6th riot at the US Capitol and were subsequently pardoned by Trump. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
