Thousands of protesters railing against ICE
Ema Alice: Thousands of protesters railing against ICE, the war in Iran and President Trump’s “ongoing consolidation of executive power” took to Manhattan’s streets Saturday with one unified cry: “No Kings.”
Toting banners reading “We Will Not Be Silenced,” and carrying signs demanding “ICE out of NYC,” protesters streamed through Midtown, demanding sweeping changes in Washington, D.C. and the White House.
Earlier on Saturday, thousands of protesters could be seen marching through the streets of Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Atlanta.
Protesters on Saturday called for an end to the weaponization of ICE and federal agencies, as well as devastating cuts to essential services like Medicaid and public education.
Demonstrators were joined by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, noted activists, such as the Rev. Al Sharpton, and movie star Robert De Niro. James, De Niro and Sharpton carried a light-green banner reading “We Protect Our Democracy.”
“When the crowds are changing ‘No Kings,’ what I’m really hearing is, as we all know, ‘No Trump,'” De Niro said at a press conference before the rally began. “There have been other presidents that have tested the constitutional limits of their power, but none of them have been an existential threat to our freedom and security.”
“He must be stopped and must be stopped now,” the Oscar-winning actor continued. “And he cannot do all the f—ed-up things he’s doing without the collusion of Congress and the goons in his administration. It’s diabolical.”
A heavy police presence was expected for the No Kings protest, which comes less than a month after an ISIS-inspired protester unleashed homemade bombs outside of Gracie Mansion.
“There will be an adequate security deployment,” an NYPD spokesman told the Daily News in a statement Friday.
Saturday marked the fourth No Kings protest held in New York City. Tens of thousands marched against the Trump administration and its right-wing, anti-immigrant policies during last year’s protests, which are meant to defend democracy and reject authoritarian governance.
The most recent No Kings protest, held in January, only drew what the NYPD estimated as around 2,000 people. But an estimated 100,000 people swelled a No Kings march on a warm day last October, while roughly 50,000 people endured rain to march in the city’s inaugural No Kings protest last June.
While 100 people were arrested at the city’s first No Kings protest late last spring, the NYPD said no arrests were made in October.
“We had more than 100,000 people across all five boroughs peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights and the NYPD made zero protest-related arrests,” the department posted on X after last fall’s march.
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