NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- Thousands of New Yorkers are expected to participate in “No Kings” marches on Saturday, with demonstrations protesting President Donald Trump expected from the East Bronx to Park Slope in Brooklyn.
More than 3,000 events tied to the nationally coordinated protest are expected across the US, with participants opposing Trump administration policies including federal funding cuts to welfare programs, the recent war with Iran and aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders will be joined by musicians Joan Baez and Bruce Springsteen at an event near Minneapolis, where two Americans were killed by immigration enforcement officials earlier this year.
Robert De Niro, Reverend Al Sharpton and New York Attorney General Letitia James are scheduled to speak at the main New York City rally in Midtown Manhattan, where organizers expect at least 20,000 people to attend.
“This administration has put an enormous number of people through pain and suffering and in harm’s way,” said Leah Greenberg, an organizer for marches across the US.
The ‘No Kings’ rallying cry originated after Trump declared himself a regent when slamming New York City’s congestion pricing program. Early in his administration, he sought to assert his influence over the city to block the toll. “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in Feb. 2025. “LONG LIVE THE KING!”
Though the administration was unsuccessful in halting congestion pricing — the Metropolitan Transportation Authority won approval to keep operating it from a judge — the ‘No Kings’ moniker stuck.
At last October’s march, more than 100,000 New Yorkers were part of the demonstrations, according to the New York Police Department.
The walks were largely peaceful with a mix of youth, families and older adults, and officers made no protest-related arrests.
This year the NYPD says it will deploy adequate security to ensure New Yorkers can “safely express their First Amendment rights at tomorrow’s rally,” according to a spokesperson. The event comes just weeks after improvised explosive devices were seized during a protest near the mayor’s residence at Gracie Mansion. Also, since the start of the war with Iran, police have boosted counter-terrorism resources around the city, including heavy weapons teams, canine units and aviation.
New York’s main rally will start on 7th Avenue and Central Park South on Saturday afternoon — just blocks away from Trump Tower.
Organizers are advertising dozens of locations for participants to join up prior to the event, while also holding local neighborhood demonstrations across the city, including a 10 a.m. pedestrian bridge walk in Washington Heights and a 1 p.m. march along Prospect Park West in Park Slope.
Staten Island has its own event near the offices of Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, the city’s only Republican member of Congress. Events are also expected outside the city, a demonstration is planned at the East Hampton Town Hall grounds.
