'No Kings' Protests Sweep US, Europe As Bruce Springsteen Performs, 'Cats Against Trump' Sign Stands Out Pics

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Large crowds gathered on Saturday to protest the war in Iran and the actions of US President Donald Trump, taking part in“No Kings” demonstrations across the United States and Europe, as reported by AP. Minnesota became the focal point of the movement, with organizers anticipating turnout in the millions. In St. Paul, thousands packed the Capitol lawn and nearby streets, some displaying upside-down American flags as a symbol of distress.

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The rally featured a headline performance by Bruce Springsteen, who played his song“Streets of Minneapolis.”

He wrote the song in response to the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents and in tribute to the thousands of Minnesotans who took to the streets over the winter to protest the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement. Before he launched into the song, Springsteen lamented Good and Pretti's deaths but said people's continued pushback against US Customs and Immigration Enforcement has given the rest of the country hope.

"Your strength and your commitment told us that this was still America," he said.“And this reactionary nightmare, and these invasions of American cities, will not stand,” as reported by AP.

Demonstrations took place across a wide range of locations, from New York City-home to about 8.5 million people in a strongly Democratic state-to Driggs, a small town in eastern Idaho with fewer than 2,000 residents, in a state where Trump won 66 percent of the vote in 2024.

Biggest crowds yet expected

Organizers in the United States estimated that earlier rounds of the“No Kings” rallies drew over 5 million participants in June and 7 million in October. This week, they told reporters they were expecting around 9 million people to join Saturday's demonstrations, though it was still unclear if that number was reached.

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They also noted that more than 3,100 events had been registered across all 50 states-about 500 more than in October.

In Topeka, Kansas, a protest outside the Statehouse featured participants dressed up as a frog king and portraying Trump as a baby.

Wendy Wyatt drove with "Cats Against Trump" sign from Lawrence, 20 miles to the east, and planned to drive back to her hometown for a later rally there.

Wyatt said "there are so many things" about the Trump administration that upset her, but "this is very hopeful to me."

Protesters have a long list of causes

The Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement, particularly in Minnesota, were just one item on a long list of protester grievances that also included the war in Iran and the rollback of transgender rights.

In Washington, hundreds marched past the Lincoln Memorial and into the National Mall, holding signs that read "Put down the crown, clown" and "Regime change begins at home." Demonstrators rang bells, played drums and chanted "No kings."

Bill Jarcho was there from Seattle, joined by six people dressed as insects wearing tactical vests that said, "LICE," spoofing ICE as part of what he called a "mock and awe" tour.

"What we provide is mockery to the king," Jarcho said. "It's about taking authoritarianism and making fun of it, which they hate."

About 40,000 people marched in a "No Kings" event in San Diego, police there said.

Main event is at the Minnesota Capitol

Organizers named the rally there as the national flagship event, highlighting the state where federal agents fatally shot two individuals who had been observing Trump's immigration crackdown.

Springsteen's Land of Hope & Dreams American tour carries a“No Kings” theme and is set to begin Tuesday in Minneapolis.

Before the rocker known as "the Boss" took the stage, organizers played a video from Robert DeNiro. The actor said he wakes up every morning depressed because of Trump but was happier Saturday because millions of people were protesting. He also congratulated Minnesota residents for running ICE out.

An event on the Minnesota Capitol grounds in June drew an estimated 80,000 people and Minnesota organizers expected 100,000 on Saturday.

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Protesters held up a massive sign on the Capitol steps that read, "We had whistles, they had guns. The revolution starts in Minneapolis."

Rallies planned outside the US

According to Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, the group leading the movement, rallies are planned in more than a dozen countries spanning Europe, Latin America, and Australia, AP reported. In nations with constitutional monarchies, he said, the demonstrations are being held under the name“No Tyrants.”

In Rome, thousands marched while chanting in opposition to Premier Giorgia Meloni. Her conservative government had recently faced a major setback after a referendum aimed at streamlining Italy's judiciary failed, following criticism that it threatened judicial independence. Protesters also carried banners condemning Israeli and US strikes on Iran and called for“a world free from wars.”

In London, people protesting the war in Iran held banners that said, "Stop the far right" and“Stand up to Racism.”

And on Saturday morning in Paris, several hundred people, mostly Americans living in France, along with French labour unions and human rights organizations, gathered at the Bastille.

"I protest all of Trump's illegal, immoral, reckless, and feckless, endless wars," Ada Shen, the Paris No Kings organizer, said.

(With inputs from AP)

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