As President Trump prepares to celebrate his 79th birthday and the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary with an unprecedented military parade in Washington D.C., a wave of nationwide protests is set to erupt under the banner “No Kings.”
Los Angeles, already rocked by eight straight days of unrest, is gearing up for a major showdown Saturday, with at least a dozen groups including Indivisible, ACLU, and 50501 rallying against what they call authoritarian overreach and a federal crackdown on immigrants.
The protests, dubbed a “Day of Defiance,” come amid sweeping immigration raids across job sites, churches, and retail centers. Federal troops and Marines have been deployed to protect property and enforce operations, after earlier protests turned violent, torching vehicles and vandalizing federal buildings.
Despite the escalating tensions, the White House insists Trump supports peaceful protest. Still, the administration’s use of National Guard troops without state approval has sparked legal battles, with California Governor Gavin Newsom vowing not to be “pushed around” any longer.
Protests are expected to erupt not only in LA but in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Charlotte, and other cities. As curfews tighten in downtown LA, local officials warn the crackdown risks pushing immigrants further into hiding and hurting the economy.
Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed from a DHS press briefing Thursday and later called for calm, urging Americans to protest peacefully and lawfully.
