Protesters out in force for 'No Kings' rallies across the U.S.

Protesters spanning all age groups took to the streets en masse for "No Kings" rallies across the United States on Saturday, denouncing what they view as authoritarian tendencies and unbridled corruption of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Organizers expected millions of people to turn out by day's end at more than 2,600 planned rallies in major cities, small towns and suburbs.

The demonstrations were largely peaceful. The New York Police Department said more than 100,000 people protested peacefully across all five boroughs and that the New York Police Department (NYPD) "made zero protest-related arrests." Events in Boston, Chicago and Atlanta also drew crowds.

The protests reflected growing unease among many Americans, mainly on the ideological left, with developments such as the criminal prosecution of Trump's perceived political enemies, his militarized immigration crackdown, and the sending of National Guard troops into U.S. cities, a move Trump has said was aimed at fighting crime and protecting immigration agents.

In Washington, demonstrators filled the street as they marched toward the U.S. Capitol, chanting and carrying signs, U.S. flags and balloons.

Protester Aliston Elliot, wearing a Statue of Liberty headpiece, said, "We want to show our support for democracy and for fighting for what is right. I'm against the overreach of power."

In downtown Houston, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Daniel Aboyte Gamez, 30, joined a crowd that officials said numbered about 5,000 at city hall on Saturday afternoon.

"I don't understand what's going on in this nation right now," said Gamez, who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

Kevin Brice, 70, a military veteran among thousands of protesters streaming into the riverfront area of Portland, Oregon, said, "Everything that I thought that I stood for while I was serving in the military seems to be at risk. So even though I'm a lifelong Republican, I don't support the direction the party is going."

Kelly Kinsella, 38, standing among several thousand people gathered outside the Colorado statehouse in Denver, was dressed as the Statue of Liberty and carried a "No Kings" sign.

"Everyone comes to work stressed, and it's because of the current conditions," said Kinsella, who said she was motivated to turn out largely because of renewed inflation that she blamed on Trump's tariff policies.

Trump: 'I'm not a king'

Trump has said little about Saturday's protests. But in an interview with Fox Business aired on Friday, he said, "They're referring to me as a king; I'm not a king."

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez both voiced their support for the "No Kings" movement.

House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, on Friday, labeled the "No Kings" protests "the hate America rally." Other Republicans have accused organizers of the rallies of stoking an atmosphere that might spur more political violence, especially in the wake of the September assassination of right-wing activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk.

Saturday's protests were aimed at building on grassroots momentum gained by organizers of some 2,000-plus "No Kings" protests that were staged on June 14, coinciding with Trump's 79th birthday and a rare military parade in Washington.

Dana Fisher, a professor at American University in Washington and author of several books on American activism, forecast that Saturday could see the largest protest turnout in modern U.S. history. She expected that over 3 million people would take part based on registrations and participation in the June events.

Overall turnout for the June 14 "No Kings" rallies was estimated at 4 million to 6 million, according to a crowd-sourcing analysis published by the prominent data journalist G. Elliott Morris on his Strength in Numbers blog site.

Fisher said the protests were "not going to change Trump's policies. But it might embolden elected officials at all levels who are in opposition to Trump."

(With input from Reuters)