NEW YORK, June 13 (Xinhua) -- In the hours before tanks barrel down the streets of Washington, D.C. for U.S. President Donald Trump's grand military parade on Saturday, thousands of Americans are expected to gather across the country in defiance of what they call his dangerous brand of authoritarianism.
"The organized day of protests in over 2,000 cities -- dubbed 'No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance' -- comes after a week of unrest and anger in Los Angeles and other cities following immigration raids in the LA area and the Trump administration's move to federalize the National Guard and dispatch Marines to California," reported The Washington Post on Friday.
No Kings organizer Ezra Levin said that interest has "skyrocketed" since those protests began, with individuals in 200 more cities signing up to host No Kings events just this week. He said more people are now expected to turn out than the estimated 3.5 million who participated in a similar nationwide day of action in April.
Organizers deliberately chose not to hold an event in Washington because of the military celebration, although other groups have planned demonstrations in the capital for Saturday.
Law enforcement officials around the country are bracing for arrests, and Trump himself warned from the Oval Office this week that people who "want to protest, they're going to be met with very big force."
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has already deployed 5,000 Texas National Guard troops and 2,000 state troopers in advance of protests around the state Saturday, without consulting mayors or other local leaders.
