Cities brace for large crowds at anti-Trump protests

Cities large and small were preparing for major demonstrations on Saturday across the US against President Donald Trump, as officials urge calm, National Guard troops mobilise and Trump attends a military parade in Washington to mark the Army’s 250th anniversary.

A flagship “No Kings” march and rally are planned in Philadelphia, but no events are scheduled to take place in Washington, DC, where the military parade will take place on Trump’s birthday.

The demonstrations come on the heels of protests flaring up around the country over federal immigration enforcement raids that began last week and Trump ordering National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles where protesters blocked a freeway and set cars on fire.

Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades while officials enforced curfews in Los Angeles and Democratic governors called Trump’s Guard deployment “an alarming abuse of power” that “shows the Trump administration does not trust local law enforcement.”

A demonstrator is seen through tear gas smoke fired by the Los Angeles Sheriff Department during a march against US President Donald Trump in Los Angeles, California, on Saturday. AFP

Governors and city officials vowed to protect the right to protest and to show no tolerance for violence.

Republican governors in Virginia, Texas, Nebraska and Missouri are mobilising National Guard troops to help law enforcement manage demonstrations.

There will be “zero tolerance” for violence, destruction or disrupting traffic, and “if you violate the law, you’re going to be arrested,” Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin told reporters on Friday.

In Missouri, Governor Mike Kehoe issued a similar message, vowing to take a proactive approach and not to “wait for chaos to ensue.”

Anti-Trump and pro-Trump protesters face off during the "No Kings Day" event in Huntington Beach on on Saturday. AP

People rally during the "No Kings Day" demonstration at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, on Saturday. AFP

Protesters march through the streets of downtown as part of a nation wide "No Kings Day" demonstration in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday. AFP

Nebraska’s governor on Friday also signed an emergency proclamation for activating his state’s National Guard, a step his office called “a precautionary measure in reaction to recent instances of civil unrest across the country.”

Organisers say that one march will go to the gates of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis warned demonstrators that the “line is very clear” and not to cross it.

Governors also urged calm.

On social media, Washington state Governor Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, called for peaceful protests over the weekend, to ensure Trump doesn’t send military to the state.

“Donald Trump wants to be able to say that we cannot handle our own public safety in Washington state,” Ferguson said.

In a statement on Friday, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, urged “protestors to remain peaceful and calm as they exercise their First Amendment right to make their voices heard.”

Associated Press