Protests Against ‘No Kings’ Planned, Right Wing Violence Brewing
Millions of protesters around the nation are expected to join in the “No Kings,” anti-trump demonstrations on Saturday while the chatter among right wing groups is calling for violent confrontations.
The No Kings website supports a “peaceful movement” where
“violence of any kind will not be tolerated.” In contrast, trump has warned that protests in Washington, D.C., against trump’s $40 million birthday bash and a 250th anniversary for the founding of the U.S. Army will not be tolerated and will be met by a “very big force.” The day also is National Flag Day.
More than 1,800 No Kings protests are planned and are being supported by dozens of organizations and individuals, including Walmart heiress Christy Walton who placed a full page ad in the N.Y. Times promoting the protest.
The billionaire’s ad lists eight declarations: “WE honor our commitments and stand by our allies, WE defend against aggression by dictators, WE care for veterans and children, WE respect our neighbors and trading partners, WE support a healthy national and international economy, WE uphold the stability of rule of law,” and more.
A statement from No Kings said that “Donald Trump wants tanks in the streets and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday. A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington — it rises up everywhere else.”
“From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism and show the world what democracy actually looks like: people, united, refusing to be ruled,” the statement said.
“This country doesn’t belong to a king — and we’re not letting him throw himself a parade funded by tens of millions of our taxpayer dollars while stealing from us and stripping away our rights, our freedoms, and the programs our families rely on. On June 14th, we’re coming together to send one clear message: No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings,” the statement concluded.
Among the sponsors of the NoKings protests is Indivisible, a progressive movement and organization initiated in 2016 as a reaction to trump’s election. The movement began with the online publication of a handbook written by Congressional staffers with suggestions on how to peacefully resist the government’s move to the right under trump.
Indivisible’s founders, Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, were included in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2019. The group continued its advocacy activities into the post-trump era. In October 2021, Indivisible planned to spend $1 million to protect eight Democratic incumbents in Congress.
The No King protests are being planned by several groups, including #50501, a grassroots organization which coordinated its first mass protest on Feb. 5. The idea for 50 protests in 50 states on one day spread rapidly on social media. Since then, the protests have grown over successive days of action: February 17, March 4, April 5, April 19 and May 1.
“Our movement shows the world that the American working class will not sit idly by as plutocrats rip apart their democratic institutions and civil liberties while undermining the rule of law,” said a #5051 statement.
According to InfluenceWatch, the #50501 Movement emerged on the social media website Reddit supporting protests across the U.S. in response to trump’s second election. Supporters focus on trump’s executive overreach along with other causes, including Palestinian nationalism and LGBTQ+ interests.
In a video post on its subreddit, the #50501 Movement says the organization “stands for justice,” “liberation,” “and dignity for all people,” and opposes “authoritarianism,” “billionaire rule,” “executive overreach,” “oppression,” “apartheid,” “genocide,” and “occupation.” The organization is U.S.-centric but it also supports the people of the Palestinian territories, Congo, Ukraine, Sudan, and Myanmar. The #50501 Movement claims to have 5.2 million members.
Another organization involved in the No Kings protests is “NoVoiceUnheard,” which “aims to empower all those whom the current U.S. administration and its operatives seek to silence.”
“And in 2025, if you object to policies, fall outside of certain demographics, are not a member of the 1 percent who hold 30 percent of this country’s wealth, voted blue — or simply voted at all — that’s you,” said a NoVoiceUnheard statement which added, “Some conservatives have misinterpreted this as a call to violence, but NoVoiceUnheard advocates only peaceful demonstrations and is run completely by ordinary citizen volunteers.”
Also working on the protests is “Political Revolution,” a volunteer organization founded out of the conclusion of the 2016 presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
In a joint statement, the #50501 movement and Political Revolution called for the removal or resignation of trump, investigations into his administration appointees including billionaire Elon Musk, the repeal of “oppressive” executive orders and the restoration of diversity, equity and inclusion frameworks. Protests also are aimed at Project 2025, the far-right blueprint for the trump administration.
“Our goal is to unite the American people against our common enemy: the Trump administration, anyone involved in dismantling our democracy, and anyone who wishes to divide us by our differences instead of unite us by what makes us American,” the joint press release said.
The groups are calling for removal of trump from office and the reinstatement of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in the federal government. Its protests have targeted state capitol buildings and also Tesla dealerships.
Among the many partners in the NoKings protest are 198 Methods, 350 Action, Activate America, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Postal Union, Bend the Arc Jewish Action, Black Voters Matter, Bulletproof Pride, Catholics Vote Common Good, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Climate Defenders, Common Cause, Patriotic Millionaires, the Communications Workers of America, Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Sierra Club and Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice.
Right Wing Violence
Right wing agitation was promoted after the protests in Los Angeles, which began on June 6, were labeled by trump as “violent, insurrectionist mobs,” and that Los Angeles had been “invaded and occupied by illegal aliens and criminals.” Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard members to the city after the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) declared downtown LA an “unlawful assembly area” on June 8. Trump also ordered 60 Marines to help quell violence. City and state leaders opposed the deployments and said the protests were largely peaceful.
The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism reported that violent white supremacists and MAGA supporters have been using private Telegram channels to call on members to disrupt the No Kings protests.
In Utah, the local chapter of the racist group White Lives Matter (WLM) shared information about the upcoming protest in Salt Lake City, that “communism has taken deep root in America,” that the protests “may get violent like in LA,” and that members should “keep an eye out, especially for arsonists who want to burn our country down.”
The group re-shared posts from the Los Angeles protests that “thousands of brown invaders” were “swarming” the city. White Lives Matter has previously been responsible for harassing Haitians in Ohio, where they helped spread the false claim that Haitian immigrants were eating household pets, and at LGBTQ+ events, such as when a member threw a Molotov cocktail at a church in Wadsworth, Ohio, in April 2023 in an attempt to stop a drag event.
Chapters of the white supremacist Proud Boys have also been sharing information about the protests. The Tennessee Proud Boys put up a post targeting two Indivisible organizers, referring to them as “atheist communists” who “train radicals on how to organize, protest, and incite riots.”
The Fort Wayne Proud Boys advised followers to “check the map” because “riots are coming,” while the Tennessee Proud Boys shared the map of protest locations “just in case you wanna catch up with your local fully funded fascist anti-capitalist anarchist.” Another post was made in a public, general chat for Proud Boys nationwide, saying that the map of protest locations displayed “planned riots throughout the country” by “the NGOs that are being funded by our tax dollars.” They ended the message saying “safe to say this isn’t over.”
The Proud Boys Ohio chapter posted that members should remember that “Operation Skid Mark is now in progress” and that they should not “stop for a single protester in the street.” Operation Skid Mark refers to a Florida law which allows motorists who feel endangered to run over protesters.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., referred to the protests as being “orchestrated,” and “backed by a communist group tied to the CCP.” Luna claimed encouraged MAGA supporters to record faces and license plates of participants committing “illegal” actions and submit them to the FBI.