From the lawn of Denver’s Capitol complex to courthouse steps in Grand Junction, Coloradans planned to gather across the state Saturday as part of the national “No Kings” movement to protest the policies and actions of President Donald Trump and his administration.
Protesters are expected to gather in more than 50 Colorado cities and towns to march against the deployment of federal agents and military forces into U.S. cities, targeting of immigrant families and threats to the country’s electoral, environmental protection, health care and education systems, according to organizers.
The first round of “No Kings” demonstrations on June 14 drew an estimated 20,000 people onto Denver’s streets, with millions participating nationwide.
Organizers expect about 12,000 people in Denver alone, with dozens more events scheduled across the Front Range, including in Aurora, Colorado Springs, Littleton, Arvada, Thornton, Commerce City, Loveland, Broomfield, Longmont and Boulder.
Denver residents can expect traffic and public transportation impacts from the protests — June’s event brought rolling road closures in the city and caused the Regional Transportation District to close Union Station for several hours.
RTD officials on Saturday said buses, light rail and commuter rail to downtown and Union Station will proceed as planned unless streets “as long as it is safe to continue operations” and barring any street closures.
This is the third national mass mobilization since Trump’s return to the White House in January and comes against the backdrop of a government shutdown that not only has closed federal programs and services, but is testing the core balance of power as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that organizers warn are a slide toward American authoritarianism.
Many protesters were especially angered by attacks on their motives after the president’s Republican Party began labeling Saturday’s demonstrations “Hate America” rallies.
In Bethesda, Maryland, one held a sign that read “Nothing is more patriotic than protesting.”
In nearby Washington, D.C., Brian Reymann carried a large American flag and said being called a terrorist all week by Republicans was “pathetic.”
“This Is America. I disagree with their politics, but I don’t believe that they don’t love this country. I believe they are misguided. I think they are power hungry,” Reymann said.
Trump himself is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
“They say they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” Trump said in a Fox News interview airing early Friday, before he departed for a $1 million-per-plate MAGA Inc. fundraiser at his club. Protests are expected nearby Saturday.
More than 2,600 rallies are planned Saturday in cities large and small, organized by hundreds of coalition partners.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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