Millions of people across the US marched in a “No Kings” protest against president Donald Trump’s policies on Saturday.
Organisers said there were nearly 7 million people at more than 2,700 events in all 50 states.
Huge crowds turned out in major cities like New York, Washington DC, Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as smaller gatherings held nationwide to broadly reject what organisers described as Trump’s “authoritarian” agenda.
Citing the Trump administration’s targeting of immigrant families, troop deployments in cities, cuts to federal programs like healthcare and environmental protections, as well as Trump’s threats to overtake elections.
Since the start of Trump’s second term in office, communities in the US have been increasingly contending with masked ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents going through the streets and detaining people without warrants, in what the Trump administration is branding an immigration crackdown.
“The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings- and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption and cruelty,” organisers said.
The nationwide protests and marches over the weekend were largely peaceful, police said.
People held signs with slogans such as “Democracy not Monarchy”, “The Constitution is not optional” and “We protest because we love America, and we want it back”.
Ahead of the marches, Trump and his allies accused protesters of being linked to the far-left Antifa movement and claimed they were holding a “hate America rally”.
A key strategy seen by protesters was to counteract this narrative by wearing inflatable costumes and bright colours.
One demonstrator in Los Angeles explained the style choice to CNN saying: “It’s really hard to call something a war zone when you look at something and it’s just a block party and people in Halloween costumes.”
Music groups and bands showed up to many of the protests, while people in inflatable animal suits danced around and waved signs and flags.
Going beyond US borders, the “No Kings” protests were even seen throughout Europe, with demonstrations in Berlin, Madrid and Rome showing solidarity with Americans.
People in London and Toronto joined in as well, with demonstrators gathering outside their respective US embassies.