THE LOOP — Scores of Chicagoans took to Downtown streets Saturday as a part of the “No Kings” march, a collection of nationwide protests in opposition to President Donald Trump.
The No Kings march and rally kicked off round midday Saturday at Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington St. It’s the newest on this week’s flurry of anti-Trump protests domestically and throughout the nation because the administration has ramped up immigration raids and despatched in army forces to Los Angeles to quell civil unrest.
Examine beneath for updates on the day’s occasions:
6 p.m. Chicago Protest Crowd Estimated At 75,000
A volunteer with Indivisible Chicago stated the group is estimating about 75,000 folks attended Saturday’s “No Kings” Protest in Chicago.
Earlier within the day, a police chief had given a tough estimate of 20,000 folks in attendance on the march.
“We’ve checked out aerial images and in comparison with our previous protests. Indivisible Chicago estimates we had as much as 75,000 folks on the streets of Chicago at this time,” Sally Schulze with Indivisible Chicago, which organized the native occasion, stated in an e-mail.
New York Metropolis’s crowd was an estimated 200,000 sturdy, whereas the No Kings rally in Philadelphia had about 100,000 folks, organizers stated.
-Quinn Myers
5:30 p.m. Protesters And Police Conflict Close to ICE Area Workplace
After a chronic, non-violent standoff that noticed protesters hurling obscenities and chanting “Allow us to by means of” at law enforcement officials, attendees started to trickle out of Daley Plaza and the streets round it after being rebuked from marching additional. By 5:30 p.m., the realm had been successfully cleared.
Some protesters relocated to ICE’s Chicago Area Workplace,101 W. Ida B. Wells Drive, the place roughly 150 folks took over the realm of Clark Road immediately adjoining to the workplace.
Police rushed to the scene and fashioned a line, ordering and in some cases pushing protesters out of the road.
DaMontre Redmon sustained a gash to his brow after police struck him with batons as he tried to assist his buddy off the bottom. Police have been forcing protesters off of Clark Road and onto the sidewalk in entrance of the workplace.
“They have been dragging me by my toes,” Redmond stated, pointing to a bloodied bandage on his brow. “I’m glad I didn’t get arrested. I used to be simply making an attempt to assist my buddy, after which they’re hitting me.”
The protest in opposition to ICE continued from the sidewalk after police cleared the road.
-Charles Thrush
5 p.m. Over 5 Million March In ‘No Kings’ Protests Nationwide
Over 5 million folks marched Saturday in over 2,000 nationwide protests as a part of the “No Kings” motion that stands in opposition to President Donald Trump, organizers stated.
That’s extra folks than was anticipated by organizers. Protests in New York Metropolis noticed 200,000 marchers, whereas Philadelphia noticed roughly 100,000, organizers stated in a press launch.
The protesters got here out regardless of threats of drive from Trump and a few Republican native leaders, organizers stated.
“At this time, throughout pink states and blue, rural cities and main cities, Individuals stood in peaceable unity and made it clear: we don’t do kings,” No Kings organizers stated in an announcement. “This administration disappears folks whereas chopping their care — slashing healthcare, gutting training, and criminalizing immigrants as an alternative of delivering dignity. However at this time was a reminder: we’re nonetheless right here. Nonetheless organizing. Nonetheless rising. Nonetheless unafraid.”
-Joe Ward
4 p.m. Police Crack Down On Additional Marching
About 1,000 protestors stay in Daley Plaza following the conclusion of the “No Kings” march, with some making an attempt to return to the streets to maintain marching. Chicago law enforcement officials have fashioned traces on the east and west ends of the plaza to maintain them from transferring ahead.
Protestors have shifted a number of instances from one facet of the plaza to the opposite. Police Supt. Larry Snelling is standing on Dearborn and Washington, as is Deputy Mayor of Public Security Garien Gatewood.
Chants of “allow us to by means of” got here from the group making an attempt to march, with different chants of “don’t get provoked” echoing by means of the group.
Police referred to as for reinforcements to include the protest.
-Quinn Myers, Charles Thrush
3:15 p.m. March Wraps Up At Daley Plaza
The march concluded after 3 p.m., with protesters persevering with to hold round Daley Plaza as the primary occasion concluded. Certainly one of them was Little Village resident Tomas Cortez, who stated he’s been frequently attending anti-Trump rallies to “combat for the whole lot.”
“Combating for immigrant rights, combating for ladies’s rights, combating for the rights of individuals abroad, combating for folks of shade, combating for queer rights,” he stated.
As a Mexican American, Cortez stated he feels a duty to be a “voice” for his neighbors in Little Village, which has a excessive inhabitants of undocumented immigrants.
He thought Saturday’s march was total successful, however wished it had resulted in a stronger name to motion.
“I would like there to be audio system and affordable discussions and to speak as a neighborhood, a Chicago neighborhood, as an alternative of ‘you’re simply going to listen to us converse after which we’re going to go residence,’” he stated. “I simply want it was slightly bit extra of assets obtainable to us, on the prepared. I want there was slightly extra hype on the finish of the rally.”
Protesters Daisy and Andrea, who wished to not share their final names, carried a Chicago flag and a brilliant pink megaphone with them as they settled again in Daley Plaza after an eventful afternoon of marching. As highschool academics with many undocumented college students, they attended Saturday’s protest to “converse up for our college students even when they will’t see us proper now,” Daisy stated.
“There’s loads of concern proper now for our college students,” Daisy stated. “A few of them don’t present as much as class as a result of they’re afraid of what may occur.”
Andrea famous the significance of displaying up regardless of well-liked narratives round protesting.
“My mother needed me to not present up at this time, as a result of she stated it could be harmful,” Andrea defined. “However these are simply narratives. That’s not how Chicago is. It was peaceable and highly effective at this time.”
“The hair on my arm remains to be standing up,” Daisy added. “At this time gave me chills.”
Whereas the primary march wrapped up, some teams remained scattered all through Downtown, together with a gaggle with a loud speaker chanting “Free Palestine” close to Trump Tower. One other group marched south down the Magnificent Mile, which was closed to automobile visitors.
-Quinn Myers, Charles Thrush
2:45 p.m. Tens of Hundreds Flood Downtown For ‘No Kings’ Rally, Police Say
Chicago Police estimated round 20,000 folks took to Downtown streets Saturday for the “No Kings” march to denounce President Donald Trump, Chief of Patrol John Hein stated.
The march took up a lot of the Loop, with the entrance of the march blocks away from the tail, which was nonetheless making its approach by means of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive an hour after the lead of the march got here by means of.
Protesters had made their approach by means of the southwest finish of the Loop round 2:45 p.m. The motive force of a 54th/Cermak sure Pink Line practice slowed down at Clark and Van Buren to let off a loud whistle from the practice, leading to loud cheers from protesters.
The march was initially slated to wrap at 2 p.m. By round 2:45 p.m., protesters started filtering again into Daley Plaza after snaking by means of downtown streets for over an hour and a half. Organizers stationed in tents within the plaza handed out free water bottles to marchers seeking to quench their thirsts.
-Charles Thrush, Quinn Myers
2:30 p.m. Smaller, Native Protests Pop Up In Neighborhoods, Suburbs
Downtown wasn’t the one space to see protesters Saturday. Some teams took to their neighborhood road corners to register their anger with Trump.
In Edgewater, round 250 folks lined the intersection of Sheridan Highway and Broadway. An identical protest popped up exterior on Foster Avenue, stated neighbor Jim Troxel. The protests have been organized by senior residents residing on the Breakers Residing Heart and Admiral on the Lake, he stated.
The actions all fell below the banner of the “No Kings” day of protests throughout the nation. The Chicago occasion is one among lots of of comparable protests happening nationwide on Saturday, together with in Evanston, Oak Park, La Grange and different suburbs.
-Joe Ward
2:15 p.m. Protesters (Peacefully) Shut Down The Loop
The gang that turned out for Saturday’s “No Kings” rally has successfully shut down the Loop, with tens of hundreds of protesters snaking their approach by means of Downtown streets to denounce Trump.
As the pinnacle of march hit South Michigan Avenue and Ida B Wells Drive, the tip of the protest was nonetheless making its approach up Wabash Avenue towards Wacker Drive, the place the protest then turned south onto Michigan.
The gang took properly over a half hour for the whole group to make its approach by means of the Michigan and Wacker intersection.
Protesters cheered and chanted down Michigan Avenue earlier than turning West on Ida B. Wells drive slightly after 2:00 p.m. Police famous that the protest had remained peaceable so far with zero arrests reported.
“I think about what individuals are going to be considering in 50 to 100 years from now,” protester Ella Stucky stated. “The best way we glance again on the Civil Rights motion or opposition to dictatorships overseas, and now we’re seeing that at this time. In 50 years individuals are going to look again on now and say ‘I can’t that was occurring in America.’”
-Quinn Myers, Charles Thursh
1:45 p.m. Huge Protest Marches Previous Trump Tower
Waves of protesters took over Wacker Drive and marched previous Trump Tower, with the group yelling expletives in opposition to the president and chanting “Whose streets, our streets!”
It took the group properly over quarter-hour to make it approach by means of the intersection of Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue, the place a logjam fashioned as a gaggle of protesters on Michigan Avenue joined the primary group.
Protesters chanted and interacted with boaters and vacationers as they hit Michigan Avenue.
Police brass walked in entrance of the protest, together with Supt. Larry Snelling and Counterterrorism Chief Duane Devries. Police leaders confirmed no arrests have taken place up to now, because the march has been peaceable with no incidents.
-Charles Thrush
1:20 p.m. Marchers Take To Downtown Streets Behind ‘No Kings’ Banner
A large crowd of anti-Trump protesters have left Daley Plaza and are marching north by means of the Loop in direction of Trump Tower.
One other group of protesters cut up off from the primary group and started marching south on Dearborn Road.
Chants of “No Kings!” reverberated by means of the road.
Lots of of law enforcement officials escorted the group by means of downtown and cordoned off facet streets. Dump vans and snow plows have been used to dam off bridges over the Chicago River, and the Magnificent Mile was closed to automobile visitors north of the river.
Mexican and Individuals flags waved as a dance circle fashioned round percussionists Marcos Sanchez and Sandra Morales, who have been taking part in a Cumbia groove collectively on the nook of Dearborn and Randolph. Sanchez performed a Guiro, a standard instrument present in Latin America, whereas Morales used a bucket and a picket spoon.
“We don’t need each protest to be about doom and gloom,” Sanchez stated. “Music brings folks collectively. We wish pleasure in our communities!”
Sanchez, who stated he needed to combat for the Latino neighborhood, talked about that a few of these near him have been residing in concern of ICE raids.
“It’s my responsibility to be out right here combating for them,” Sanchez added. “And shortly [Trump] will come for everybody.”
-Charles Thrush, Quinn Myers
1 p.m. Tens Of Hundreds Set To March On Downtown Streets
Protesters started lining up behind a big “no kings” banner because the march was set to begin close to Daley Plaza. Chicagoans from all walks of life attended the rally, with quite a lot of protesters bringing out props.
For instance: On Washington Road between State and Dearborn streets, a person held a Donald Trump piñata as protestors of all ages took turns hitting it with a stick.
Mother and father Matt Meador and April LaCroix introduced their three younger kids to the protest in a stroller fitted with an indication studying “My dad and mom taught me to face up.”
“Trump is attacking folks on the margins, and we’re privileged folks, however he’s going to ultimately come for us, too,” LaCroix stated.
“It’s straightforward to suppose stuff like this doesn’t matter, however I used to be telling the children, if no person reveals up, we don’t make a degree. Each single individual issues.”
Meador emphasised the hazard ICE raids pose to college students and friends of his kids.
“These deportations have an effect on each child,” Meador stated. “Our youngsters’ classmates are afraid. We don’t wish to see folks in our communities get pressured out.”
Mandy Ross traveled from the western suburbs to attend Saturday’s rally with a home made signal that learn “I’d Fairly be a Childless Cat Woman than a Soulless Rat Bastard,” a reference to feedback made by now-Vice President JD Vance in 2021.
She was initially in the midst of the group in Daley Plaza, however stepped away to the sting of the rally on Dearborn Road close to Madison Road to take a breather.
“I’m simply actually disgusted about what’s been occurring in my identify, as a United States citizen,” she stated. “The kidnappings of people who find themselves doing the whole lot proper, lots of people who’ve dedicated no main crimes, or any crime for that matter, being taken off the streets and despatched to a detention camp in El Salvador — it’s disgusting.”
-Charles Thrush, Quinn Myers
12:25 p.m. Huge Crowds Gathers As Officers Urge ‘Peaceable’ Protest
Senator Dick Durbin, U.S. Rep Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, CTU president Stacy Davis Gates and different officers addressed a large crowd in Daley Plaza round 12:15 p.m. Saturday after organizers urged a “peaceful, peaceable protest.”
Media members estimated tens of hundreds of individuals have been gathered close to the Loop plaza because the march was set to kick off.
“Once I look out at this gathering I don’t see Daley Plaza, I don’t even see a metropolis, I see America standing up for it’s rights,” Durbin stated in a speech to the group. “I see a rustic that determined in 1776, ‘no extra kings’ in America.”
Audio system blasted Trump in speeches earlier than the march. American Civil Liberties Union spokesperson Ed Yohnka lambasted the Trump administration’s “authoritarianism” and accused the president of concentrating on marginalized communities throughout the US, together with LGBTQ+ folks and immigrant communities.
“Donald Trump is amassing energy to create terror, to sow concern and to destroy the lives of those that don’t match his ugly, darkish imaginative and prescient of America,” Yohnka stated. “He’s terrorizing our neighbors and our neighborhoods in pursuit of this destructing, damaging mass deportation program in Chicago and across the nation.”
He then led a thunderous chant by means of the group of “No Kings! No Kings!”
-Charles Thrush, Quinn Myers
11:30 a.m. Hundreds collect forward of march
Hundreds of individuals gathered at Daley Plaza by 11:30 a.m. for Chicago’s anti-Trump “No Kings” march, one among greater than 2,000 deliberate throughout the nation Saturday.
Protesters held indicators that stated “MAGA: Morons Are Governing America,” “Dissent Is Patriotic” and “Rise Up and Resist.”
Bob Dylan’s “The Occasions They Are A-Changin” and Gil Scott Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” blasted from audio system as attendees waited for the rally to kick off at midday.
The occasion is being organized by Indivisible Chicago and quite a few native political teams, unions and different organizations.
RELATED: Chicago Braces For Surge In Immigration Raids As Mayor Brandon Johnson Urges Metropolis To ‘Resist’
Indivisible Chicago volunteer Sally Schulze stated protesters will march north on Dearborn Road to Wacker Drive, pausing throughout the river from Trump Tower. They are going to then head south on Michigan Avenue and finish someplace again within the Loop, presumably in Federal Plaza.
Schulze stated organizers aren’t precisely certain how many individuals will attend Saturday’s protest, however that the quantity may exceed 20,000.
“President Trump retains appearing like he’s obtained a crown on his head. We’re right here to remind him that it is a nation that’s constructed on its democracy, that we’ve checks and balances, that we’ve separation of powers, we’ve due course of. Each single individual is right here to remind him that we don’t put up with kings on this nation,” she stated.
Ron, who wished to not share his final identify, carried an indication with the phrases “You Suck!” scrawled throughout a taco together with a smaller blue signal beneath that learn “Pendejo.” Photographs of tacos have been used to antagonize Trump after a Wall Road Journal article reported on an acronym used to explain the president: “Trump All the time Chickens Out.”
“Trump has been concentrating on the Latino neighborhood with the ICE onslaught,” Ron defined. “So we’ve to indicate out at this time. The one approach we cease him is that if we mobilize, and it’s necessary to maintain the whole lot peaceable. If there’s loads of property harm, that performs into the Republican’s palms.”
A big police presence had additionally gathered Downtown in anticipation of the march.
Washington between Clark and Dearborn and Dearborn from Madison to Randolph are closed off by police earlier than the march started. Metropolis snow plows and different vans are additionally staged Downtown, and they’re frequently used to dam of streets.
Saturday’s rally comes just a few days after hundreds of Chicagoans took to the streets Tuesday to protest in opposition to current Immigration and Customized Enforcement raids domestically and throughout the nation.
Organizers stated Tuesday’s marches have been a present of solidarity with Los Angeles, the place hundreds of Nationwide Guard troops and Marines have been deployed and a curfew was set after protests erupted there following immigration raids. It was additionally meant to protest comparable techniques utilized by federal companies in Chicago, the place no less than 10 folks have been detained at check-ins below a monitoring program for immigrants final week.
Police stated that 17 folks have been arrested throughout Tuesday protests in Chicago, together with 4 on felony costs — which embody aggravated battery and legal harm to authorities property. Some vandalism to police vehicles and different property was seen throughout the demonstration, though the march remained largely peaceable.
-Quinn Myers
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