‘No Kings’ protests draw massive crowds across US; some protesters detained in LA
Protesters rallied on March 28 in California, Tennessee, Ohio, New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, Texas, Washington, D.C., and other locations. The flagship U.S. rally in Saint Paul, Minnesota, included notable names such as the state’s Gov. Tim Walz, Sen. Bernie Sanders, legendary actress Jane Fonda, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and a performance of “Streets of Minneapolis” from Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen.
Demonstrators flocked to protests around the country to march, stand in crowds or line main streets. They chanted, waved signs and cheered as cars drove by honking in support. Some passed out water and sign-making supplies, or even set up lawn chairs, supporting the effort however they could.
In the nation’s capital, demonstrators gathered around a group of musicians banging on drums, and some overturned buckets, chanting to the rhythm: “Hey Congress, do your job!” A Palestinian flag was seen waving among the crowd. One person even came dressed in an inflatable Pikachu costume; another wore red “Handmaid’s Tale” robes.
“NO KINGS, YAS QUEENS!” one colorful sign said at a demonstration in Nashville, Tennessee. “He’s gone too far,” read another in Reno, Nevada.
Robin Gillis, 73, joined a gathering that lined a street in West Bloomfield, Michigan, holding in one hand a sign that said “We the People have had enough!” and in the other, the leash for her English Setter, Elly.
“We love America, and we are the real patriots, here,” she told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.
When previously asked to comment on the “No Kings” protests, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded: “The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them.”
Coordinated international “No Kings” protests were also held Saturday, including in Rome.
Contributing: Reuters
Protesters zip-tied and detained as DHS says federal officers assaulted in LA
A Los Angeles Police Department officer estimated that 50 to 60 people were being detained near the Metropolitan Detention Center, roughly an hour after the LAPD declared an unlawful assembly in the area.
A USA TODAY Network reporter observed at least a dozen people zip-tied along Alameda Street, near the detention center. Authorities appeared to be searching some of their belongings around 7 p.m. PDT on March 28. Earlier, officers were seen loading several people into a vehicle along the same stretch of street.
The Department of Homeland Security said Saturday that two people were arrested for assaulting federal law enforcement, Reuters reported. DHS said two officers were hit with cement blocks and were receiving medical care in the incident at the Roybal Federal Building, which is adjacent to the detention center.
In a post on X earlier that day, LAPD said protesters along Alameda Street between Aliso and Temple streets had been warned multiple times by federal authorities not to attempt to tear down a gate or throw objects. The department said federal authorities were using non-lethal measures to push the crowd back.
The Metropolitan Detention Center sits between Aliso and Temple streets. Graffiti protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and President Donald Trump covered walls and sidewalks along Alameda Street, though it was unclear when the vandalism occurred.
LAPD later said none of its officers were involved in the crowd management measures.
