Organizers and supporters told NOTUS they expect a peaceful Saturday — but they are planning around possible provocation from federal law enforcement or agitators.
Millions of people are expected to protest President Donald Trump’s reach for more executive power at “No Kings” rallies across the country this Saturday, and organizers and supporters are worried about the presence of federal authorities in some of those cities.
Republican leaders have linked — without evidence — the rallies, which are expected across 2,500 towns and cities, to terrorism and political violence. But some of the protests’ organizers and their supporters say they’re more concerned about what the federal response to these gatherings might look like than they are about any demonstrators’ potential illegal conduct.
“We have a very volatile situation in which these federal forces are not wanted in these cities, and they’re behaving very aggressively towards the people there — being very provocative, attacking or arresting people who are filming them or protesting them,” said Chip Gibbons, policy director for Defending Rights & Dissent, one of the protests’ supporting organizations.
“There is some belief that Trump wants incidents like this to occur, because then it can justify what he’s doing even further. I would be very concerned about these federal forces trying to provoke one of the protests,” Gibbons continued.
“No Kings” national coalition partners told NOTUS that to counter Republicans’ narrative that they’re promoting extremism, they’ve been promoting nonviolence and prioritizing de-escalation while training activists.
“Trump can call us violent all he wants. The American people aren’t stupid,” wrote Hunter Dunn, a spokesperson for 50501, one of the “No Kings” coalition’s core organizing partners, in an email to NOTUS. “The No Kings coalition is aware that far-right agitators may sometimes try to disrupt our non-violent demonstrations, which is why we are prioritizing safety by making sure that volunteers are trained in de-escalation and community care.”
The White House did not address any concerns expressed by the protests’ organizers and supporters.
“The Trump Administration is focused on stopping the scourge of left-wing violence plaguing American communities. Left-wing protestors can beclown themselves by lawfully protesting the alternate reality they live in, but violence or breaking the law will not be tolerated,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson wrote in a statement to NOTUS.
Groups that are part of the “No Kings” coalition are bracing for potential escalation from the federal government, and they have even tailored some of their protest plans for the cities where Trump has directed increased federal law enforcement presence, from Portland, Oregon, to Memphis, Tennessee.
For some, like the American Civil Liberties Union, that includes setting up de-escalation and know-your-rights training in advance that covers “what to do if you encounter military troops or federal law enforcement agents,” said Ellen Flenniken, deputy director of campaigns for the ACLU’s Justice Division and the organization’s “No Kings” lead.
“Deploying troops and armed, militarized federal agents into our cities is an intentional tactic to sow fear, to intimidate anyone who dares to disagree with him,” Flenniken told NOTUS. “We are doing everything that we can to prepare for Saturday in all of those cities that have been impacted by the federal deployments.”
Local officials are also preparing for the possibility of escalation from federal personnel in response to protests.
A spokesperson for Portland Mayor Keith Wilson wrote that “Wilson’s primary concern is the unpredictable and escalating behavior of federal agents toward members of our community.”
“Over the past several months, Portlanders have largely demonstrated peacefully at the ICE facility. The federal response has consistently exceeded what’s warranted by the situation on the ground,” wrote spokesperson Cody Bowman. “Portlanders gathering peacefully to express their views are exercising their First Amendment rights. Any suggestion otherwise misrepresents the reality.”
That tracks with what many “No Kings” partners and supporters are saying: They condemn violence, and are only helping to facilitate peaceful protests.
In Congress, top Republicans are repeating similar claims that “No Kings” events specifically will promote or harbor unlawful activity, as some elected Democrats express support for the day of protest.
Last week, Speaker Mike Johnson called the “No Kings” protest planned in Washington a “hate America rally,” and said “all the pro-Hamas wing and the antifa people” would attend.
A reporter asked him Tuesday if he’s concerned about federal law enforcement responding with brutality this weekend. He readily dismissed the concern and said he hadn’t seen any federal agents “cross the line” so far this year.
“What I’ve seen is the abuse of law enforcement by radical leftist activists,” Johnson told reporters at his daily government shutdown news conference. “Most recently, the most threatening thing I’ve seen yet was the naked bicyclers in Portland who were protesting ICE down there. I mean, it’s getting really ugly.”
(Wilson’s office declined to comment on Johnson’s characterization of the city’s protests, or the naked cyclists that Johnson referenced.)
Source: https://www.notus.org/trump-white-house/no-kings-protest-trump-administration
