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Thousands of people took to the streets of US cities and towns on Saturday afternoon in a wave of protests against the Trump administration ahead of the US president’s military parade in Washington.
The protests, known as the No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance, are a response to what the organisers describe as a shift towards authoritarianism and the militarisation of democracy. They are expected to be the largest since Donald Trump began his second term in the White House.
A $40mn military parade to commemorate the US Army’s 250th anniversary, which coincides with Trump’s 79th birthday, is set to begin in the US capital at around 6.30pm.
As many as 100,000 demonstrators were expected to gather in Philadelphia, the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed, with tens of thousands expected in major cities such as New York and Los Angeles.
Police in Minnesota called on people in the state not to attend the rallies following the assassination of state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband early on Saturday. The shootings happened just hours after the attempted assassination of State Senator John Hoffman.
No Kings said the protests planned for state capital Saint Paul would go ahead.
“We think it’s important to gather peacefully. In the face of this horror, we will mourn and mark our determination for a peaceful, just, democratic future,” the group said.
Minnesota attorney-general Keith Ellison said at the rally in Minneapolis that Trump’s behaviour was that of a dictator.
“He’s trying to abolish the Department of Education, he’s trying to get rid of USAID that helps people in Minnesota and abroad, he’s trying to get rid of science grants that help fuel our economy and add new cures, he’s trying to persecute the trans community,” Ellison said.
The US president was trying to rule the country through acts of proclamation, he added.
The rallies follow clashes between law enforcement and protesters demonstrating against the Trump administration’s raids on alleged undocumented workers in several US cities.
Trump ordered the deployment of marines and the National Guard to Los Angeles over the objections of Gavin Newsom, the state’s governor.
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