‘No Kings’ demonstrations draw massive anti-Trump crowds across US and abroad
Millions march against Trump in nationwide day of non-violent protest.
Huge crowds have gathered to protest against President Donald Trump's policies in cities across the US - among them New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles.
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Demonstrators are protesting against a range of President Trump’s policies.
Some of the main points of contention include perceived threats to democracy, the administration’s ICE raids and troop deployments in US cities, as well as cuts to federal programs and the war in Gaza.
Read More: Protests in central London over government's digital ID scheme
The rally in New York City drew thousands of people not long after it began on Saturday morning.
The streets and subway entrances were densely packed with people holding up signs with slogans like, "Democracy not Monarchy" and "The Constitution is not optional".
The NYPD said more than 100,000 people had gathered to peacefully protest across all five of the city's boroughs, and that no protest-related arrests were made.
In Times Square, its estimated that over 20,000 marched down 7th Avenue.
Gatherings are expected to continue across the country throughout the day.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders delivered a keynote speech in Washington DC, where the National Guard guard has been deployed since August at Trump's request, no troops were visible at the protest, although local police were.
In Chicago, mayor Brandon Johnson spoke at a rally, saying: “We will not bend, we will not bow, we will not cower, we will not submit.”
Throughout Europe, protesters took to the streets in Berlin, Madrid and Rome earlier on Saturday to show solidarity with their American counterparts.
A couple of hundred protesters also gathered outside the US embassy in London.
The president's Republican Party has called the protests "Hate America" rallies.
This is the third No Kings mass mobilisation to take place since Mr Trump's return to the White House and with the growing perception of government overreach spreading across the US, this is expected to be the largest.
It comes against the backdrop of a US government shutdown that has not only closed federal programmes and services, but is testing the core balance of power as an aggressive executive confronts Congress and the courts in ways that organisers warn are a slide towards authoritarianism.
Mr Trump himself is away from Washington at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
"They say they're referring to me as a king. I'm not a king," Mr Trump said in a Fox News
Protests are expected to take place near the resort on Saturday.
Top Democrats such as senate leader Chuck Schumer and Independent senator Bernie Sanders are joining in what organisers view as an antidote to Mr Trump's actions, from the administration's clampdown on free speech to its military-style immigration raids.
"There is no greater threat to an authoritarian regime than patriotic people-power," said Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, which is among the key organisers.
As Republicans and the White House dismiss the protests as a rally of radicals, Mr Levin said their own sign-up numbers are growing.
More than 2,600 rallies were planned in cities large and small, organised by hundreds of coalition partners. They said rallies are being planned within a one-hour drive for most Americans.
Republicans have sought to portray participants in Saturday's rallies as far outside the mainstream of American politics, and a main reason for the prolonged government shutdown, now in its 18th day.
From the White House to Capitol Hill, Republican leaders disparaged the rallygoers as "communists" and "Marxists".
They say Democratic leaders, including Mr Schumer, are beholden to the far-left flank and willing to keep the government shut down to appease those liberal forces.
"I encourage you to watch - we call it the Hate America rally - that will happen Saturday," said House Speaker Mike Johnson.
"Let's see who shows up for that," Mr Johnson added, listing groups including "antifa types", people who "hate capitalism" and "Marxists in full display".