“There may be rain in Chicago, but it will still be a beautiful day,” predicts Sally Schulze, with a smile in her voice. The spokesperson for Indivisible Chicago Alliance is scheduled to take part on Saturday in one of some 2,600 demonstrations organized across the country to denounce the policies of the Trump administration.
“We hope that tens of millions of people will participate,” Glo Sahay, spokesperson for 50501, said Friday in Denver. The movement, which stands for 50 States, 50 Protests, 1 Day, began last February and holds protests every month.
Some 200 partners joined 50501 for the “No Kings” day of protest on Saturday, including Indivisible, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and League of Women Voters, among others.
This is the second demonstration on this theme, the first having counted some 5 million people, according to the organizers, on June 14 – Donald Trump’s birthday, coinciding with an unprecedented military parade in Washington.
Participants intend to denounce “the growing authoritarian excesses and corruption of the Trump administration.”
Security
The tense climate pushed organizers to prepare for different scenarios, while Republican leaders renamed the event “hate America”.
PHOTO ROSELLE CHEN, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Posters to be used during Saturday’s “No Kings” protest
The 50501 movement is decentralized, but offers information to different groups and has asked each local organizer to appoint a person responsible for security, says Glo Sahay.
In Chicago, the rally is planned for Grant Park. Even though the demonstration is intended to be peaceful, Indivisible Chicago reminded participants that there is “always a risk,” says Mme Schulze.
Activists received training in de-escalating tensions. More than 150 volunteers from Indivisible Chicago must position themselves at different locations throughout the rally to ensure its safety and smooth running.
“We are determined to ensure that everything goes peacefully,” explains M.me Schulze on the phone. We have no idea how ICE might react, though, because we’ve seen them be brutal to so many people in Chicago. »
National Guard
The Illinois metropolis is in the crosshairs of the American administration, just like Portland, Oregon. Trump has called in the National Guard to assist immigration officials in these Democratic cities where protesters are challenging ICE’s actions. Judges blocked the order. The administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to allow the deployment in Chicago.
PHOTO JEENAH MOON, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Members of the National Guard march near ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) facilities in Chicago
The president, Donald Trump, and his vice-president, JD Vance, also raised the possibility of soon invoking the insurrection law, to circumvent the refusal of Democratic governors to welcome the National Guard in their states.
Alongside the “no kings” slogans in Grant Park, the demonstrators also intend to send the message “hands off Chicago”.
Illinois
Tensions don’t just affect the big city, recalls Becky Simon, president of the Illinois chapter of the League of Women Voters.
“The problem affects the entire state of Illinois,” the 62-year-old woman said over the phone.
There are troops stationed in Elwood, 50 miles (31 km) from Chicago. We have had people arrested elsewhere in the region…
Becky Simon, president of the Illinois chapter of the League of Women Voters
The housewife attended her first protests in a stroller, she says, during the civil rights struggle. She plans to go to three rallies in her region on Saturday.
“We must defend democracy and demonstrate while we still can,” she insists. We must denounce the militarization of our cities. »
“Non-American”
House Speaker Mike Johnson called the rallies “un-American,” adding that there would be terrorism-linked participants in the protests.
PHOTO J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson
Last month, Trump classified “Antifa” – a designation for left-wing groups claiming to be anti-fascist – as a terrorist group. The first charges of “supporting terrorism” were filed Friday in a case relating to an attack on an immigration detention center in Texas.
Experts fear the repercussions of this designation.
“What’s happening now is that a certain ideology is being called ‘terrorism,’ and that should really worry us all,” said Xavier T. De Janon, director of mass advocacy for the National Lawyers Guild, a legal group best known for its defense of protesters’ rights. Observers from different locals were expected to be present at various locations on Saturday to document possible violations against participants.
“Attacks against demonstrators are getting worse in the United States,” adds Mr. De Janon, contacted in North Carolina. “A few years ago, by participating in a demonstration, you could receive a fine. It was considered a minor offense,” he said.
Today, under the current government, participating in a protest can result in arrest and more serious charges, and this is happening more and more often.
Xavier T. De Janon, National Lawyers Guild Director of Mass Advocacy
The Home of the Brave initiative – one of whose advisory board members is conservative Trump critic George Conway – spent US$1 million advertising “No Kings” Day in various media outlets, and expected one of the largest protests in American history.
“MAGA Republicans’ attempts to portray the protests as some sort of ‘terrorist’ rally only shows how afraid they are of mass mobilization,” a spokesperson for the movement commented in an email to The Press.
