RICHMOND, Va. — Opponents of President Donald Trump’s administration took to the streets of communities large and small across the U.S., decrying what they see as threats to the nation’s democratic ideals.
The disparate events ranged from a march through midtown Manhattan and a rally in front of the White House to a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration marking the start of the American Revolutionary War 250 years ago. In San Francisco, protesters formed a human banner reading “Impeach & Remove” on the sands of Ocean Beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Hundreds of demonstrators also rallied in Richmond's Capitol Square on Saturday afternoon. Organizers with the 50501 Virginia group said 11 similar protests were planned across the state to show opposition to the administration’s actions on government downsizing, the economy, human rights and other issues.
Elsewhere protests were planned outside Tesla car dealerships against billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk and his role in downsizing the federal government. Others organized more community service-oriented events such as food drives, teach-ins and volunteering at local shelters.
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PHOTOS: Protesters criticize Trump at Virginia's 'Freedom Rising' rally in Richmond
Thomas Bassford was among the demonstrators at the reenactment of the Battles of Lexington and Concord outside Boston. The 80-year-old retired mason from Maine said he believes Americans are under attack from their own government and need to stand up against it.
“This is a very perilous time in America for liberty,” said Bassford, who was with his partner, daughter and two grandsons. “I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”
In Denver, hundreds of protesters gathered at the Colorado State Capitol with banners expressing solidarity with immigrants and telling the Trump administration: “Hands Off!” People waved U.S. flags, some of them held upside down to signal distress.
Thousands of people also marched through downtown Portland, Oregon, while in San Francisco, hundreds spelled out the words “Impeach & Remove” on a sandy beach along the Pacific Ocean, also with an inverted U.S. flag.
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The protests come just two weeks after similar nationwide protests against the Trump administration drew thousands to the streets across the country.
Organizers say they’re protesting what they call Trump’s civil rights violations and constitutional violations, including efforts to deport scores of immigrants and to scale back the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and effectively shutter entire agencies.
Some of the events drew on the spirit of the American Revolutionary War, calling for “no kings” and resistance to tyranny.
Boston resident George Bryant, who was among those protesting in Concord, Massachusetts, said he was concerned Trump was creating a “police state” in America as he held up a sign saying, “Trump fascist regime must go now!”
“He’s defying the courts. He’s kidnapping students. He’s eviscerating the checks and balances,” Bryant said. “This is fascism.”
In Washington, Bob Fasick said he came out to the rally by the White House out of concern about threats to constitutionally protected due process rights, as well as Social Security and other federal safety-net programs.
The Trump administration, among other things, has moved to shutter Social Security Administration field offices, cut funding for government health programs and scale back protections for transgender people.
“I cannot sit still knowing that if I don’t do anything and everybody doesn’t do something to change this, that the world that we collectively are leaving for the little children, for our neighbors is simply not one that I would want to live,” said the 76-year-old retired federal employee from Springfield, Virginia.
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In Columbia, South Carolina, several hundred people protested at the statehouse holding signs with slogans such as “Fight Fiercely, Harvard, Fight.”
And in Manhattan, protesters rallied against continued deportations of immigrants as they marched from the New York Public Library north toward Central Park and past Trump Tower.
“No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” they chanted to a steady drumbeat, referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Marshall Green said he is most concerned that Trump invoked the wartime Alien Enemies Act of 1798 by claiming the country is at war with Venezuelan gangs linked to the South American nation’s government, even though a recent U.S. intelligence assessment found no coordination between them.
“Congress should be stepping up and saying no, we are not at war. You cannot use that,” said the 61-year-old from Morristown, New Jersey. “You cannot deport people without due process, and everyone in this country has the right to due process no matter what.”
Meanwhile Melinda Charles, of Connecticut, said she worries about “executive overreach,” citing clashes with the federal courts, Harvard University and other elite colleges.
“We’re supposed to have three equal branches of government,” she said, "and to have the executive branch become so strong, I mean it’s just unbelievable.”
The protests happened as the Supreme Court on Saturday blocked, for now, the deportations of any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th-century wartime law.
In a brief order, the court directed the Trump administration not to remove Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center “until further order of this court.”
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.
The high court acted in an emergency appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union contending that immigration authorities appeared to be moving to restart removals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The Supreme Court had said earlier in April that deportations could proceed only if those about to be removed had a chance to argue their case in court and were given “a reasonable time” to contest their pending removals.
“We are deeply relieved that the Court has temporarily blocked the removals. These individuals were in imminent danger of spending the rest of their lives in a brutal Salvadoran prison without ever having had any due process," ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt said in an email.
The Trump administration later Saturday filed paperwork urging the high court to reconsider its hold. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday in a post on X: “We are confident we will ultimately prevail against the onslaught of meritless litigation brought by radical activists.”
The Trump administration later Saturday filed paperwork urging the high court to reconsider its hold. Press secretary Karoline
In a previous response to past protests, White House officials said that President Trump will “always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries.” The statement criticized Democrats for allegedly advocating benefits for illegal immigrants, claiming it would “bankrupt” these programs and harm American seniors.
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