Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across the US on Saturday (June 14), in protest against the Trump administration and its recent wave of authoritarian policies. Under the banner of the ‘No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance’, the marches took place on the day of Trump’s 79th birthday and a parade to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US military, which critics have suggested is a personal vanity project for the president.

There were large crowds reported in 50 states, from firmly Democrat ones like New York and California to Republican strongholds like Idaho and Texas. 

The organisers of the protests have said that over five million people in total attended, which, according to one data analyst, could make them the largest single-day demonstration in US history. The protests were a response to Trump’s recent policies in general, including his executive orders targeting the trans community, his cuts to public health agencies and science grants, and the general sense that he is bypassing the democratic process and ruling by decree – many signs on display compared him to a dictator and the ‘No Kings’ theme was intended to portray his style of presidency as fundamentally at odds with America’s history and values. There were a lot of ‘Orange Mussolini’-style comedy placards, and that giant balloon depicting Trump as a baby made a comeback.

But in Los Angeles, in particular, the protests were more heavily focused on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and its heavy-handed campaign of deportations and immigration raids, which has sparked unrest in LA over the last week. This culminated in Trump sending 4,000 National Guard troops and 7,000 marines to the city, against the wishes of California Governor Gavin Newsom. On Saturday, crowds chanted “ICE out of LA” as they marched around City Hall, and many of the placards on display were specifically related to mass deportations and migrant rights. Later in the day, LA police began using tear gas, rubber bullets and “flash bangs” to disperse the crowd, before imposing an 8am curfew.

The protests throughout the country were overwhelmingly peaceful, but a handful of violent incidents marked the day. In Virginia, Riverside (a town in the greater LA area) and San Francisco, motorists deliberately drove into a crowd of protestors, causing several injuries but fortunately no fatalities. The protests in Los Angeles continued on Sunday.