The "No Kings" anti-Trump protests scheduled for June 14 across the United States are expected to be the largest demonstrations since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to a June 13 report by The New York Times (NYT).

The protests will span all 50 states, with an estimated 2,000 events planned. Over 30 protests are scheduled in Indiana alone, with demonstrations expected in rural areas as well as major cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

Philadelphia, a symbolic city of the American Revolution, is anticipated to be a focal point for the protests. However, Washington, D.C., where a military parade is set to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army’s founding and Trump’s 79th birthday, has been excluded from the protests. This is likely due to Trump’s warning that any demonstrations opposing the Washington parade would face a “very strong response (force).”

The protests come amid ongoing demonstrations across the U.S. against Trump’s immigration crackdowns and the deployment of military forces in Los Angeles (LA). Organized by groups such as Indivisible and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the protests follow earlier large-scale anti-Trump demonstrations, including the April 5 “Hands Off!” protests against Trump’s policies threatening healthcare, education, and social security. These groups also led protests during Trump’s first term opposing restrictions on abortion rights and gun violence.

While the “No Kings” protests were planned before the LA demonstrations, their scale has grown as the LA protests spread nationwide. The organizing groups have declared the protests a “Day of Resistance” against the authoritarian overreach of Trump and his allies.
On June 12, Trump dismissed the claims of the protest organizers, stating, “I don’t feel like a king. I have to go through hell to get anything approved. We are not kings at all.”
The Trump administration has stated it will protect peaceful protests but will respond firmly to any violent actions.

Following the deployment of the National Guard to LA, the administration confirmed that military forces will remain stationed there, with 700 U.S. Marines on standby for deployment to downtown LA. Texas Governor Greg Abbott also announced the deployment of over 2,000 Department of Public Safety (DPS) personnel and more than 5,000 National Guard troops across the state.

Yonhap News