“The numbers are rising”: protest organizers expect a massive crowd across the country on June 14th, in response to immigrant raids, military presence
US lawyers accusing two of them by throwing Molotov cocktails
“Let’s be clear, this is not the end, it’s the beginning,” US lawyer Bill Essay vowed to indict protesters who committed crimes.
- Up to 2,000 protests and rallies are expected nationwide on June 14th.
- In Los Angeles, organizers expect a maximum of 250,000 people to attend, well over the 70,000 people initially expected.
- Organizers say the event is peaceful and holds some additional safety and escalation training for local activists and volunteers.
Organizers for “King” Day say it’s more important than ever to have a “National Day of Peaceful Protest” on June 14, following President Donald Trump’s decision to send the Marines and National Guard to Los Angeles.
“I think we’ll see the biggest peaceful day of protest this country has certainly seen since the first Trump terminology,” said Ezra Levin, one of the organizers.
Now, around 2,000 protests and rallysers, dubbed “No Kings” Day, are planning to oppose what they see as holding Trump’s power. The protests that were nearly twice as high as the “missing hands” protest on April 5 revealed millions of Americans in cities large and small across the country. Organizers are hoping that millions of Americans will appear nationwide on June 14th.
The protest took place on the same day as the parade to mark the 250th anniversary of the US Army in Washington, D.C., and also came on Trump’s 79th birthday.
The “King” Day protest was planned long before Trump called out the California State Guard to quell the largely peaceful protest against the immigration enforcement raid in Los Angeles. On June 9, he ordered 700 Marines to the city.
Still, there was a pocket of prominent clashes with Los Angeles police, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom bringing in additional state resources and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass imposing a curfew. Hundreds of people have been arrested, primarily violating curfews.
The protests then spread across the country, with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, deploying the Texas State Guard to immigration enforcement protests.
“Moving troops in American cities would be considered an overreach, and now peaceful and loud moms and fathers, grandmas, children, dogs and families have appeared and said, ‘I can’t stand this authoritarianism’,” Levin said.
On June 11, the White House said Trump was doing well in peaceful protests during the military parade, commenting the day before that Trump would meet “a very great force” the day before. That same day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegses proposed that more National Guard units could be deployed.
Levin said the presence of the National Guard has not changed anything at their end. There are no protests on “King” Day in Washington DC
“Our current plans are total steam,” he said. “More important than ever, we have a national day of peaceful protests in response to the rule of the monarchy, and the worst thing we can do at this moment is to retreat in response to saber rattles from Trump and others.”
‘what do i do? ‘
Organisers expect Trump’s response to immigration enforcement and most peaceful protests by bringing new people to the streets on June 14th is a key point to bringing new people to the streets.
“It’s part of the national conversation right now,” Levin said. “And when this kind of thing becomes part of the national conversation, there are a lot of people who didn’t pay attention before they lifted their heads and said, ‘Oh, that’s awful. What am I going to do?” And there’s a very clear answer. It will appear on Saturday in a peaceful protest in a town near you. ”
Progressive groups often talk about building on pivot points that draw people into protest and activism for the first time.
For example, fear and anger over tariffs announced on April 2nd brought more crowds than expected at the April 5 protests. A massive layoff of federal probation workers in February led to many people in the town hall held by Republicans in Congress.
The National Guard could change dynamics
Levin said the presence of national security forces in Los Angeles, Texas, Rosas, and possibly other states is an effort to “disturb” and scare people from protesting peacefully.
“It’s really important for us who are organising to welcome these events as much as possible and create numbers strength. The more people show up, the more difficult it is for them to scare us,” Levin said.
This week, organizers across the country are offering some additional safety and elimination de-expansion training for local activists and volunteers.
“There’s no reason to believe these are not peaceful,” he said, noting that there have been no reports of violence or property destruction during the 1,300 protests in April. “These should be family-friendly events. We hope to see people’s dogs, their families and children dancing and having fun.”
In Los Angeles, organizers expect a large number of people
On June 14th, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to be taken to the city of Los Angeles in the protest of the “king.” Organizers estimate that 250,000 people will be coming, well above the estimated 70,000 who came to the last major protest in early April.
“It’s definitely a city that knows how to protest. I say for many people it’s a sense of obligation. We have obligations to our community… our neighbors, and at the most basic level, we have obligations to democracy and freedom.
Dan said he was called 50501 in 50 states and one day at the Capitol of 50 people, not seeking permission to protest. This starts with a rally outside Los Angeles City Hall and peaks in a mile March.
He said his group’s leadership was recently in tears and collided with rubber bullets while providing food, water and medical services at protest sites in central Los Angeles.
50501 has a large team of volunteers to escalate and be on the frontline when law enforcement seeks to dissolve the protest.
“We have a medical team, and we have a security team that especially to eliminate and prevent bad actors from making things worse. If the government starts using tear gas or rubber bullets like it’s using against unorganized protests this week, those are the people who put their bodies on the line,” Dan said.
Dan encouraged people in the country to stay home illegally.
“If anyone is at risk of being targeted directly by the government, I’ll ask them to stay home and instead to go out and protest,” he said.
Still, he said there are many people there.