Left wing staging nationwide 'No Kings' protests to counter Trump's military parade

Liberal groups are planning to rain on President Trump’s military parade Saturday with hundreds of organized protests set to take place in cities across the country.

More than 200 left-wing groups and workers unions, including the American Federation of Teachers, are participating in the “No Kings” event, which, according to organizers, will be a “mass mobilization” in protest of Mr. Trump and his administration, who they say has acted like a king since taking office in January.

“They’ve defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights, and slashed our services,” organizers said in a recruitment ad.

The protests were timed as a repudiation of Mr. Trump’s parade Saturday in Washington to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. military.

The oppositional gatherings are likely to be fueled further by the Trump administration’s stepped-up actions to deport illegal immigrants, which have sparked riots in Los Angeles and other cities.

Mr. Trump shrugged off the looming protests.

“I don’t feel like a king. I have to go through Hell to get stuff approved,” Mr. Trump said Thursday at a bill signing event in the East Room. “We’re not a king at all.”

Earlier this week, he deployed the National Guard and the Marines to Los Angeles to quell rioters who have destroyed property, set cars on fire and injured law enforcement in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who are arresting illegal immigrants.

Mr. Trump also said Los Angeles “would have burned to the ground,” if he had not deployed the National Guard to the city.

The “No Kings” event has ties to the nation’s wealthiest liberal donors.

One of the main organizers, the anti-Trump group Indivisible, has received more than $7.5 million from George Soros since 2017. Another billionaire Democratic donor, Walmart heiress Christy Walton, paid for full-page, color ads in the New York Times that promote the “No Kings” protests.

Other “partners” for the event include Greenpeace, the Human Rights Campaign, MoveOn, People for the American Way, Planned Parenthood, the Service Employees International Union and Sierra Club.

Unlike the anti-ICE riots, the No Kings protests are supposed to be peaceful, at least according to organizers.

Hundreds of cities and towns are listed on a map as participating in the event with planned rallies and marches. Several cities in Mexico and Canada are also slated for No Kings rallies.

In a June 10 online “No Kings Day town hall,” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and an organizer from the left-wing activist group Indivisible, advised watchers “what you can do on June 14 to take positive, nonviolent action in your community,” and warned “our students, our neighbors and our democracy are on the line.”

The biggest protests are planned for Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta and other big cities.

The organizers say they aren’t planning a No Kings event in Washington. They want to shift attention away from the nation’s capital, where, they said, the president is rolling out tanks and other military equipment in a show of dominance on his birthday.

Mr. Trump turns 79 on Saturday.

“Instead of allowing this birthday parade to be the center of gravity, we will make action everywhere else the story of America that day: people coming together in communities across the country to reject strongman politics and corruption,” organizers said.

The group said it has organized 1,800 events in communities across the country “to uphold democracy and protect our rights.”

Red-state governors say they are ready to crack down on unrest.

Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott said he’ll deploy 5,000 National Guard members and 2,000 state police officers across the state to tamp down any violence that erupts at several No Kings rallies planned in the state.

In Florida, where dozens of No Kings rallies are planned, the state police will be on standby, Gov. Ron DeSantis said, and he’ll deploy the National Guard if necessary.