Protesters in hundreds of big cities and small towns in the U.S. — except for Washington, D.C. — will take part in the No Kings rallies on Saturday.
On the same day, the U.S. capital is hosting a military parade to mark the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary. This event coincides with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.
But the protesters want to take away focus from the military parade and instead try to put the focus on an anti-Trump narrative.
“We did not want to give him the excuse to crack down on counter-protesters in DC,” said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, one of the groups behind the demonstrations.
“We didn’t want to give him the narrative device to say we’re protesting the military. Instead, we wanted to make him look as small and weak as he is, and protest everywhere else in the country.”
What does Trump think of this? “I don’t feel like a king. I have to go through hell to get things approved,” he told reporters.
“A king would say ‘I’m not going to get this,’” Trump said.
“He wouldn’t have to call up (House Speaker) Mike Johnson and (Senate Majority Leader John) Thune and say, ‘Fellas you’ve got to pull this off’ and after years we get it done. No, no, we’re not a king, we’re not a king at all."
Will the protests be peaceful?
Protests erupted across the U.S. earlier this week, in response to the raids against undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles. At times, the demonstrations took a violent turn as self-driving Waymo taxis were set on fire and concrete was hurled at law enforcement officers.
Reports also indicated instances of looting and confrontations with the Los Angeles Police Department. The authorities also arrested individuals who used homemade explosives against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and LAPD.
Levin said he thinks people assume “a protest has to be everything. It’s got to solve all your problems.”
“We need persistent, peaceful, people-powered organizing them on the ground in blue states, red states and purple states that allow people to push back against the escalating overreach from this administration,” Levin said.
On Tuesday, Trump threatened to use “heavy force” against any protesters who show up in Washington, D.C.
Carlos Álvarez-Aranyos, founder of American Opposition, a political action committee that counters Trump, will be at the frontline of the protest in L.A.
He and his group have participated in thousands of protests since Trump took office, including a National Day of Protest on February 5th.
“There has never been violence at any of them,” he said in a press release.
Álvarez-Aranyos blamed the violence on Trump’s immigration policies and his use of the National Guard to protect federal buildings and ICE officers.
He said the deployed troops are “neither authorized nor trained” to help ICE or deal with civilians.
ICE raids continue in LA
The raids on migrants in the country illegally are expected to continue for the next few weeks.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on one such raid Thursday.
But the reports from this instance were conflicting. According to KTLA 5, an L.A. television station, ICE targeted a pregnant mother of four in Huntington Park while looking for her husband.
The woman, Sabrina Medina, a U.S. citizen, saw 10 men, dressed in tactical gear and carrying rifles. ICE busted into her bathroom while she was in the shower and asked her to step out of the house. They held a warrant for her husband, David Garcia. But Medina said her husband’s name is Jorge and he wasn’t home.
Noem stayed outside while ICE agents went through Medina’s home.
But Fox News’ Bill Melugin pushed back against KTLA’s report.
“I was at this operation with Noem. It wasn’t targeting a ‘pregnant mother’, it was targeting her previously deported illegal alien Mexican husband who had been convicted of drug trafficking in February & had an attempted murder charge pleaded down to an assault conviction,” he wrote in a post on X.
“ICE had a criminal judicial warrant for his arrest, signed off on by a federal judge, because he illegally re-entered the U.S. after removal, which is a felony.”
He also criticized Medina for not providing her husband’s criminal history. ICE confirmed these details.
The FBI has also stepped in several times, including for the arrest of a protester who provided “bionic shield” face masks to suspected rioters over the last week.
FBI agents also arrested an individual two days ago for assaulting a federal officer in L.A.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli told Fox News, “We have made it a huge priority to try to identify, locate and arrest those who are involved in organizing, supporting, funding or facilitating these riots.”
House Republicans launch investigation into LA protests
L.A.’s sanctuary laws prevent local authorities, like the LAPD, from aiding in enforcing federal immigration policy. But in reality, “California state prisons regularly cooperate with ICE ... (It) is required by law to identify people subject to deportation within 90 days,” according to NBC News.
Three blue state governors — Kathy Hochul of New York, JB Pritzker of Illinois and Tim Walz of Minnesota — fielded heated questions from the House Oversight Committee.
“Sanctuary policies do not protect Americans,” said Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., who chairs the committee. “They protect criminal illegal aliens.”
A day later, the Oversight panel launched an investigation into the LA protests amid the federal government’s efforts to deported undocumented migrants.
The committee requested documents and communications from Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ offices in a letter.
The lawmakers wrote in a letter that Newsom and Bass discouraged Trump from deploying the National Guard to L.A. over the weekend after growing demonstrations.
“You falsely claimed that state and local law enforcement had protests under control, however, police were clearly unable to quell the violence in Los Angeles prior to the arrival of the National Guardsmen,” lawmakers wrote in the letter.
It accused Newsom and Bass of championing sanctuary policies and choosing to not cooperate with federal authorities.
“You have also made it clear that you intend to block the objectives of the federal government, and defend aliens, regardless of their immigration status, criminal activity, anti-American views, or incitement to riot,” the letter added.