Demonstrators began gathering Saturday in Los Angeles and elsewhere in Southern California for the “No Kings” demonstrations, a nationwide effort to push back against President Trump.
In June, millions of demonstrators took to the streets across the country to “not the kings” as the Trump administration’s agenda came into focus. At the time, the Department of Homeland Security had begun dealing with immigration attacks across California, and Trump sent the military to Los Angeles in response to mass protests.
Since then, many Americans believe that Trump’s actions – he has doubled down on the attack of diseases in major cities, used the national book forces in Washington, DC, and started an aggressive campaign against political opponents – has become more difficult.
Trump pushed back on fighting the base under the protest in an interview with Fox News on Friday.
“They refer to me as king,” he said. “I’m not the king.”
More than 2,700 “No Kings” demonstrations are being organized across the country, about 600 more events than June, where more than 5 million people participated. Demonstrations are already underway in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Boston, drawing huge crowds.
In an effort to increase the measure of “No Kings,” the organizers appealed to Americans angry about the rising cost of living, the blocking of environmental protection, the closing of agencies that increased the government’s life-saving measures.
Los Angeles’ protest is expected to start at 2 PM in Orange County, demonstrators are expected to arrive at Centennial Park in Santa Ana on Saturday not only, but also his policies in health care, environmental protection and education.
“We’ve had enough of the illegal actions these Sham organizers are doing,” said Amy Stevens, one of the Orange County Deviteration’s Scamation organizers, in a statement. “Change starts from the bottom up.”
Organizers say the goal of “No Kings” is more than just getting Americans out on the streets, hoping to connect people angry and frustrated with the Trump administration to local organizing groups.
“Getting involved with those groups, making those face-to-face connections and joins will have a very big impact in the next few days,” said the next hunter, a spokesperson for 50501, one of the Coalition Asparling Companion organizers.
Saturday’s demonstrations took place amid major disruptions on one of California’s major highways.
The state announced Saturday morning that it would close the 17-mile stretch just hours after military officials confirmed that live artillery rounds would be fired from a Marine Corps ship at Camp Pendleton.
The unprecedented shutdown is expected to cause major gridlock, but it’s unclear what impact, if any, it will have on the day’s shows.
“Using our military to intimidate people you don’t agree with is not power – it doesn’t matter, it’s his power,” said California Gov. “Law and order? This is chaos and confusion.”
Staff writers Jenny Jarvie and Nathan Solis contributed to this report.
