On June 15, the WSWS held an emergency online meeting, “Trump’s coup and how to stop it.”
Between 5 and 11 million attend protests in over 2,000 cities nationwide
Mass protests took place Saturday in more than 2,000 cities and towns across the United States in opposition to the Trump administration’s fascist assault on immigrants and its escalating drive to establish a presidential dictatorship.
Estimates of the total number of people participating range from 5 to 11 million, making the protests one of the largest demonstrations in the history of the United States. The turnout dwarfed the sparse attendance at Trump’s military parade held in Washington, D.C. on the same day.
From New York City to Los Angeles, Chicago to Atlanta, and hundreds of smaller towns and rural areas, workers, students, and youth are taking to the streets. Demonstrators are voicing their outrage over the deployment of active-duty troops in Los Angeles, the mass raids and deportations carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Gestapo agents, and Trump’s threats to violently crush opposition.
The demonstration in New York was massive, with as many as 100,000 taking part. Tens of thousands demonstrated in Los Angeles, which has been at the center of the Trump administration’s efforts to establish a dictatorship, with the deployment of the National Guard and active-duty military to suppress protests.
Protesters included workers, young people and professionals of all races, ethnicities and ages. There were very significant demonstrations in smaller cities. In Pennsylvania, between 5,000 and 10,000 people have gathered in Allentown, an industrial center, and another 5,000 in nearby Easton.
Handmade signs predominated in all the demonstrations, denouncing the Trump administration’s assault immigrants, the destruction of democratic rights, and the attack on social programs and science. Many referenced the democratic traditions of the United States, particularly the American Revolution.
In Michigan’s capital, Lansing, an estimated 5,000 demonstrators assembled, and another 5 to 10,000 in Detroit. Thousands gathered in Nashville, Tennessee and countless other cities.
In St. Paul, Minnesota, tens of thousands protested in the city’s capital, despite a call from the state’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, for protesters to stay home following the assassination of Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman overnight, in an evident right-wing attack. The legislator’s husband was also killed, and State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were critically injured.
Approximately 1,000 people gathered in Falls Church, Virginia. Demonstrators expressed particular outrage over the Trump administration’s assault on immigrants. Falls Church is located less than ten miles from Washington, D.C., where Trump’s fascistic military parade is taking place this evening.
The crowd lined both sides of the town’s main street for about six blocks, with constant honking from passing cars in support of the protest. Numerous other demonstrations also took place throughout Northern Virginia, including many on highway overpasses.
The nationwide turnout was a powerful expression of popular opposition to the Trump administration’s assault on immigrants and its unfolding coup.
Tens of thousands peacefully rally in Los Angeles before police attack protesters, media
The “No Kings” event held in military-occupied Los Angeles on Saturday drew tens of thousands of people to downtown for a multi-hour rally in front of City Hall, in Grand Park, and throughout the surrounding area.
Many stayed away out of fear of being picked up by the immigration Gestapo. Manny, a construction worker and day laborer, told WSWS reporters he came to the rally because, “my brothers, who are undocumented, cannot.”
There have been daily protests in the second-largest city in the US following militarized ICE raids across Los Angeles County on June 7. Over the past week, more than 560 people have been arrested by the LAPD in connection with anti-ICE protests. Over 100 of those arrests are related to the 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew imposed by Democratic Mayor Karen Bass on June 10.
Saturday’s event grew throughout the day, with thousands of workers, young people, and residents making their way downtown to express their outrage over the ongoing immigration Gestapo raids in Southern California and the continued deployment of California National Guard troops and Marines in Los Angeles.
At the rally, protesters responded favorably to the Socialist Equality Party’s call for the organization of a general strike to bring down the Trump government, abolish ICE, and remove the military from Los Angeles. World Socialist Web Site reporters and supporters distributed over 3,000 “Mobilize the working class against Trump’s dictatorship!” leaflets, including some in Spanish.
As with other rallies, signs carried by protesters denounced Trump’s kingly ambitions, his attacks on democratic rights—especially due process—and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Reginald Nelson, also known as “Captain Juneteenth,” came to the rally dressed in a Union soldier’s uniform and carried a sign denouncing “traitor Trump.”
Reflecting the fact that Los Angeles is and always will be a city of immigrants, many protesters waved flags that were amalgamations of the United States flag with those of Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador. At the height of the rally, it was impossible not to see handmade signs denouncing ICE, the police, or the Trump administration.
Not even a block from where the protest was held, California National Guard soldiers were posted outside the Federal Building, which serves as a nerve center for immigration Gestapo operations. The soldiers wore body armor and carried M4 rifles. Later in the afternoon, during the police attack, National Guard troops were seen walking alongside police along the skirmish lines.
The protest remained peaceful until police attacked the crowd in the early afternoon. Protest organizers affiliated with the Democratic Party had advertised the rally as lasting from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., but thousands of people remained in the public park until 4:00 p.m. Shortly after that, the Los Angeles Police Department declared an “unlawful assembly” and began sadistically attacking protesters.
During the attack, police fired hundreds of so-called “less lethal” rounds and tear gas canisters. Viral video shows that, at one point, an elderly man was nearly trampled by a horse-mounted cop. The man, later identified by LA Taco as Arturo Obrego, a 77-year-old U.S. Army veteran, was also struck in the arm by a police truncheon before being shoved to the ground by another officer. Obrego told LA Taco he was detained by police.
Early reports indicate that at least four people were struck in the head by 'less lethal' rounds fired by police. Footage captured by streamer Hasan Piker shows a rubber bullet flying past his head and that of another protester, narrowly missing them.
Despite the fact that the curfew was not scheduled to go into effect for several hours, police forced protesters, bystanders, and anyone else in a roughly seven-square-mile area to leave downtown. In a particularly disgusting incident, officers were seen shoving two men to the ground as they attempted to help an injured protester leave the area.
The video clearly shows LAPD Officer Daniel Seals, badge number 43989, shoving the men as they are trying to leave. After Seals throws the group to the ground, one man—who appears to be press—points out to the officers that he dropped his digital camera during the assault. Instead of picking up the camera and handing it to him like a human being, Officer Thomas Chin, badge number 35722, repeatedly kicks the device, snapping it from its gimbal in the process.
Prior to the police rampage, reporters for the WSWS spoke with dozens of workers and protesters. Wade, who works two bartending jobs in Los Angeles, said: “I’m here because what Trump is doing right now is unconstitutional. He said that he was going to deport 3,000 people a day. They ran out of violent criminals on day one, and now they’re just going after anyone. I think that’s unconstitutional.”
Wade added, “I think he should have been dragged out by his hands and feet and tarred and feathered and then forgotten by history.
“I’m so mad that it's happening, that we all have to be here. Democrats are literally sitting on their hands, hoping that voting goes right next time… They're just sitting on their hands, not doing a damn thing.”
“We’re just trying to get the bare minimum to live. I got two jobs, and I can barely get an apartment?This is not right. This is not right at all, and I’m in a union.
“Capitalism is failing. Once you get to late stage capitalism, and then you get all these problems. Trump is trying to scapegoat someone. And that’s how fascism starts. Right now, [they are] blaming the illegals. But they’re not the actual problem.
“So then ICE is going after day laborers. They're going into Home Depot. But Jose is not the criminal mastermind of why my taxes are so high and why I can't get an apartment, because he lives with seven people. He ain't got nothing.
“I think a general strike is underutilized,” Wade added. “We don’t do it that often. And when we do, everyone makes a big stink about it. Everyone says, ‘Oh, look at these communists.’ They do red scare propaganda. But we have the internet now. We know what the red scare was.
“Yeah, there should be a general strike,” Wade concluded. “Are the Chinese our enemy? No, it's [Jeff] Bezos. That's your enemy. It's Bill Gates. That's your enemy. Anyone that is a billionaire, that is your enemy. It's not Jose.”
Daisy, an office worker in Los Angeles, said she came to the rally to “support all the immigrant people. I’m against the ICE raids. And I'm also here for No King's Day because I feel like this is turning into dictatorship, and somebody needs to stop to it. And I want the Trump administration to see how many people would stand up against him if we needed to. And I think everybody is also here for the same reason.
“I definitely would be for a general strike. I think our voices need to be heard too. It’s a democracy. Everybody needs to be heard, too. Everybody needs to speak up”
A teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, Mariana, told WSWS, “I've been a special ed teacher for the last 20 years. I teach third through fifth grade STEM. I’m here because I feel like I needed to take a stand. I felt like if we don't do it now, who's going to do it? If we don't take a stand for the people who can't speak for themselves, then who's going to speak for us? It's going to be too late.
“If LA falls, then everybody else is going to fall in line. I mean, Trump is going to try it in other states as well. So I think we in California need to hold the line against his militarization of our cities. That's why I'm here.”
Tatiana, an accountant in Los Angeles, said she came to rally, “because I grew up around immigrants, and I want to stand up for them.
“A lot of the people that are getting deported are hard workers. My family members are hard workers. They were also immigrants from Guatemala. I was born and raised here. And I see how hard these people work to better their lives, put their kids through school and make sure they have a good future.
“There should be a general strike against Trump. I think people should bring the economy to a stop. Because it's really going to show them that we're the ones that keep it going. It's not them. We're the ones doing all the work, doing all the heavy lifting.”
Thousands rally in Lansing, Michigan against ICE raids, inequality and Trump dictatorship
Over 5,000 people filled the lawn in front of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. The protest brought together workers, students, professionals and families from diverse backgrounds.
Participants voiced their outrage over a range of issues, including mass ICE raids targeting immigrants, the deployment of active-duty Marines and National Guard troops in Los Angeles, cuts to social programs and the growing threat of political violence. Many carried handmade signs opposing fascism, referencing the Constitution and the American Revolution and denouncing Trump’s efforts to establish himself as a dictator.
The organizers and speakers from the platform, including members of the Ingham County Democratic Party, offered a bankrupt mix of empty slogans, appeals to both capitalist parties and an emphasis on identity politics as the means to oppose Trump’s coup.
The first hour of the program was devoted by the Democrats to a tributes to their former party secretary Ted Lawson, who was shot and killed while going door-to-door in October 2023 by a 15-year-old with a .22 handgun.
A Socialist Equality Party campaign team set up a literature table and distributed one thousand copies of the statement, “Mobilize the Working Class against Trump’s Dictatorship.”
SEP campaigners received a warm reception, with many expressing support for a socialist program to fight the fascist threat. Dozens of students and workers visited the table to purchase literature and sign up to get involved with the SEP and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE).
SEP member Tim Rivers addressed the crowd from outside the official platform and denounced the Democratic Party as “worse than useless” in the fight against fascist dictatorship. He pointed to the fact that “when Trump came to Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer threw her arms around the would-be dictator.” Rivers said what is needed is general strike by the working class, but that this requires organization and leadership.
Chellie from Alpena said she joined the demonstration for the sake of her children and grandchildren. Carrying a sign that read, “If there’s money for a parade, there’s money for Medicaid,” and “I’m an unpaid protester,” she explained, “We need to get Trump out and maintain democracy. We do not need any kings in America. He is trying to be an authoritarian, and Hitler is his hero.”
Mariah from Grand Blanc, holding a Palestinian flag, said she was protesting because “I cannot stand idly by as my tax dollars are funding the destruction of an entire group of people. I’m here to stand against the genocide in Gaza, and I’m here to stand against the illegal deportations in LA and across the country.” She added, “We’re at a precipice—if we don’t take action now, it will be a very quick slide into authoritarianism. The people have to stand up and say enough is enough.”
Mariah said Trump is consolidating power and, so far, no one is standing in his way. “We need to take a hard look at our foreign policy and the ways our tax dollars have been destroying the lives of people all over the Middle East and around the world. It’s time to end the ceaseless wars.”
Sam, a student who just graduated from high school, said there needs to be a revolution in the US. She denounced the government for funding Israel’s bombing of innocent civilians in Palestine and said many people are becoming disillusioned with the Democratic Party. She added that there needs to be a worker’s political party because people are tired of the rich abusing them.
A nurse from the Lansing area spoke about the attacks on science and healthcare, saying, “I am here because I’ve seen a decline in everything since Mr. Trump took office the second time. There is so much being done against helping people. It’s not just what they’re doing to the so-called ‘illegals.’ Everyone is losing healthcare.”
“My father is eligible for Medicare this year and is now working a part-time job just to keep it. He’s worked in fiberglass longer than I’ve been alive, and he still has to work at 69! We need to stand up for everyone. Where the f*** are the Democrats? They’re just scared of losing power.”
She added, “I support the call for a general strike. When it happens, they’re going to be terrified at how quickly this country will screech to a halt. There are a lot of people who are very angry. Healthcare is already teetering—not just nurses, but techs, pharmacists, doctors, cleaning staff, EMTs, home care workers. And it’s not just in hospitals. Social workers too. It’s everyone.”
Baltimore draws largest protest in a decade against the Trump administration
Nearly 5,000 protested in Baltimore, located only 40 miles from the United States capital. The city, which is home to major federal agencies like the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, houses nearly 13,000 federal workers. It has seen numerous protests against the attacks on federal workers over the past four months.
A young dock worker who joined the protest said his family worked in the coal mines in Harlan, Kentucky, home to some of the bloodiest and most courageous battles fought by the American working class to date.
“My grandfather died fighting a war that was not his to fight and fighting a war against himself.
“The war was not fought with guns and knives, but it was fought with pickaxes,” he continued. “And the only people who benefited from that war were the capitalists.”
“I guess the message that I kind of want to put out there today is to think about who the true enemy is to the working class person. It is not your fellow man who is trying to fight for their rights, but the capitalist,” he said.
A local government worker for the Department of Parks and Recreation explained, “We can’t even afford computers. We don’t even have a punch clock. My boss has to take time cards, and we filled them out at the beginning of the week… We don’t have the money to do so much. And this is a well funded Maryland county.”
Over 1,000 rally in defense of democratic rights in Grand Haven and Muskegon, Michigan
Grand Haven, Michigan joined numerous cities nationwide in hosting a “No Kings” rally on Saturday afternoon, organized by Indivisible Grand Haven. An estimated 750 individuals participated in the peaceful protest.
Protestors gathered along Robbins Road and 172nd Street displaying homemade signs and engaging in chants such as “hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go.” Many attendees sang together, and several older community members observed the protest from lawn chairs at the back of the gathering.
Participants expressed concerns regarding a range of issues, including immigration policies, authoritarianism, cuts to social programs and environmental deregulation. Several protesters also voiced strong objections to Donald Trump’s military birthday parade, viewing it as an excessive display of power.
In Muskegon, Michigan a non-traditional protest was held at 6 p.m. Saturday evening at the Heritage Landing stage organized by Indivisible on the Lakeshore.
Over 1,000 protesters attended the event in response to Donald Trump’s military parade, voicing opposition to his administration’s assault on democratic rights. Demonstrators condemned the crackdown on free speech, threatened deportations of American citizens, political detentions, attacks on civil liberties, deep cuts to social services and proposed slashing of public education.
The event featured political street theater by Indy Next Gen, a local activist group. The performance addressed recent funding cuts by the Trump administration, included a satirical portrayal of Elon Musk wielding a chainsaw, and concluded with a symbolic “dethroning of the king.”
Thousands participate in “No Kings” rallies in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Between 5,000 and 10,000 people participated in the protest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Demonstrators gathered at the City-County Building and filled several blocks surrounding it. Across the state in Philadelphia, the “No Kings” protest drew a crowd of 30,000 people despite rainy weather.
Philadelphia protesters marched from Love Park down Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the art museum. While the mood was generally festive, it was also marked by significant anger and determination.
In both cities, as across the country, protesters carried signs denouncing Trump’s authoritarian power grab and the threat of dictatorship, his illegal detention of immigrants, the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the deployment of the military in Los Angeles. Reflecting the deep-rooted democratic sentiments of the American people, many signs specifically condemned Trump’s dictatorial actions.
In Pittsburgh, a military veteran said he opposed Trump because he is trampling on the Constitution of the United States. “People have the right to protest—they are not criminals. This is not an invasion or a rebellion,” he said. “The central right in the Constitution is that people can disagree and express their opposition to those in power. Trump is seeking to create a dictatorship and take away our basic rights.”
Christina, a theorist, said she joined the protest to oppose Trump’s attacks. “I am the daughter of Cuban immigrants, and the attack on immigrants is an attack on all of us,” she said.
“I see the effect of all his cuts,” Christina continued. “I see people who need health care, who are unhoused and don’t have access to food. The fastest-growing minority in the United States is billionaires. Yet the majority of people don’t have the basic things they need. The working class has got to stand up and fight this.”
Tens of thousands protest in Oakland, San Francisco: “When is the general strike?”
Numerous “No Kings” protests erupted across the Bay Area, with demonstrations held in San Mateo, Sausalito, San Rafael, Novato, San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, San Jose, Walnut Creek, Half Moon Bay and many other cities. In Sunnyvale and Palo Alto, organizers coordinated a human chain of 7,000 people between Tesla dealerships to express opposition to the disastrous federal budget cuts implemented by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Oakland saw a massive turnout, with tens of thousands marching down Broadway Street. More than 5,000 protesters initially gathered at Wilma Chan Park before marching to Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, where the crowd eventually overflowed the space at its peak.
Speakers included Democrat Lateefah Simon, who summarized her party’s inaction in the phrase, “To the administration: We're coming for you... to protest!”
Protesters carried signs reading “Abolish ICE” and “No Kings,” while many wore Palestinian keffiyehs in opposition to the genocide in Gaza. There was widespread agreement among workers and youth with the Socialist Equality Party’s call for a general strike, and with the demand that it be organized independently of the Democratic Party and the trade union bureaucracies.
Many people approached WSWS reporters asking, “When is the general strike?”
500 people rally in Toronto in solidarity with demonstrations in the US
Toronto, the capital of the Canadian province of Ontario, was the site of a solidarity rally Saturday morning in support of the demonstrations in the United States. The event drew a mixture of American expatriates living in Canada, Canadian workers and even some US tourists who happened to pass by.
Organized by “Democrats Abroad,” the official Democratic Party arm for Americans living overseas, the Toronto rally altered the official slogan from “No Kings!” to “No Tyrants!”—“so as not to mix messages in a country with a monarchy,” according to the organizers. They also swapped out the phrase “No Crowns!” for “No Clowns!”—reducing the rise of Donald Trump and his ongoing coup against the US Constitution to a matter of personal buffoonery, rather than confronting its deeper political and social roots.
The Democrats’ capitulation to Canadian nationalism—and their refusal to use any slogan that might offend right-wing, pro-monarchy sentiment—is yet another expression of their political bankruptcy. It underscores their inability to advance any perspective to oppose Trump’s coup and the drive toward dictatorship.
Speakers from the platform made no effort to seriously analyze the deepening political crisis in the United States or to offer any way forward. Trump was denounced as a “tyrant”—a characterization that is accurate—but no explanation was given for how he came to power or why he continues to hold it. To do so would have required exposing the Democratic Party’s role as his political enabler and acknowledging the significant support Trump enjoys within the corporate and financial elite.
Speakers confined their remarks to expressions of distress about the current situation in the United States, condemnations of Trump the individual, and appeals to Canada as a “decent country where my wife and I chose to spend our money.”
A WSWS reporting team distributed copies of, “Mobilize the working class against Trump’s dictatorship!” In conversation, the urgent need for perspective became clear. Two American physicians resident in Canada who described themselves as “California voters” declared that they were already “socialists,” but that a “broad party” had to be built in order to remove Trump from office in the next election.
A member of Democrats Abroad declared that the “Democrats have done a lot to stop Trump.” When challenged about Senator Bernie Sanders’ support for Trump’s vicious persecution of immigrants, which constitutes an attack on the basic democratic rights of the entire working class, she stormed away, unwilling to hear more.
Most attendees were open to the party’s political perspective. A young worker who was wearing a mask to protect his privacy carried a sign declaring “All power to the working class.” When asked about his sign, and how he thought that workers’ power could be achieved, he expressed the view that such a transformation “must be peaceful.” He received the party’s statement with great interest, and promised to attend Sunday’s rally.
SEP members also had extensive discussions with two IT workers who expressed agreement with the party’s demand to mobilize the working class independently of the trade union bureaucracy, the Democratic Party in the US, and the New Democrats in Canada in a struggle for international socialism.
Thousands protest in Detroit, Michigan: “Let’s see what happens when no one follows the oligarchs”
A demonstration of between 6,000 and 8,000 was held Saturday in Clark Park, located in a predominantly immigrant neighborhood in southwest Detroit.
The park is adjacent to Western International High School, where students and teachers have spoken out against the detention of 18-year-old junior Maykol Bogoya-Duarte. Duarte was seized by ICE agents during a school trip earlier this month and is currently being held in a Louisiana detention center, facing deportation to Colombia.
Significantly, the demonstration drew a larger number of workers than past anti-Trump protests, including autoworkers, electricians, and restaurant and service workers.
A retired electrician said, “They’re chasing down farmworkers and stripping collective bargaining rights from federal workers. Every one of our rights is being undermined. I’m absolutely in favor of a general strike. If you want to affect people, hit their wallet. If the oligarchs want to run the country, let’s see what happens when no one follows them.”
Two workers who stopped to speak with the WSWS also supported the call for a general strike. “If not for people like us, working people like us, who live check to check, they would not be billionaires,” one said. “So if we come together, and we don’t go to work, and we shut this down, what are they going to do?
The demonstration itself was organized by several groups either directly connected to or on the periphery of the Democratic Party. The official speakers were largely affiliated with these organizations, including figures such as Terrence Martin of the Michigan AFT. One of the featured speakers was Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.
Tellingly, Tlaib acknowledged the bankruptcy of her own party and the widespread disgust over its complicity with Trump’s fascistic policies. However, she proposed no concrete fight or strategy. Like most of the official speakers, she relied primarily on chants and vague appeals to “keep protesting.” “Are we [the Democrats] doing enough? No,” she said. “No one is doing enough in the political establishment, you know that too. That’s why you are all doing what you’re doing, demanding a country of the people and for the people.”
Though the organizers did not permit the Socialist Equality Party to speak from the official platform, leading SEP members Jerry White and Andre Damon addressed the crowd using megaphones from the campaign table.
Many workers and young people responded enthusiastically to the SEP’s message, registering for the online meeting, “Trump’s coup and how to stop it.”
More than 100,000 march in Chicago: “I support a general strike”
More than 100,000 people participated in the “No Kings” demonstration in downtown Chicago on Saturday, a turnout rivaling the January 2017 protests against Trump’s inauguration. Corporate media outlets have drastically underreported the numbers, citing only a fraction of the actual attendance, while organizers had anticipated tens of thousands.
The noon protest was organized in part by Indivisible, a group aligned with the Democratic Party. Speakers included Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, Congressman Chuy García, and a representative of Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union.
The massive crowd included youth and students, white-collar professionals, manufacturing and healthcare workers, educators, and families with children of all ages. Many spoke out against both the Democrats and the Republicans.
Many neighborhoods and suburbs also held demonstrations that drew thousands of mainly older residents, including in Evanston, Geneva, Oak Park, and La Grange.
Most demonstrators carried homemade signs expressing opposition to fascism, tyranny and lawlessness, along with a deep class hostility toward capitalism and the oligarchy. There was also a clear awareness that oligarchic rule stands in fundamental opposition to the revolutionary traditions and founding principles of the United States.
“I think it’s critical we stand against this,” said one demonstrator holding a sign referencing the Founding Fathers. “I would support a general strike.”
Protesters marched for hours from Daley Plaza through the Loop to Grant Park, passing Trump Tower and the immigration court building. Around 4 p.m., police formed a line to block the demonstration, prompting thousands of remaining marchers to chant, “Let us through!”
Ten thousand protest in Nashville, Tennessee
Organizers in Nashville, Tennessee estimated that 10,000 people attended a “No Kings” rally at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall in the state capital. Attendees filled the amphitheater and overflowed onto the surrounding lawn of the state park.
A steady stream of demonstrators was still arriving when the rally suddenly broke up, well before its scheduled end time of 12 p.m. The massive crowd flooded into the park and marched through surrounding city streets, with protesters lining both sides of the roads and the medians.
Reports of someone brandishing a gun sent dozens of demonstrators fleeing back into the park. Metro Nashville Police report the arrest of at least two people: one identified as a counter-protester and another whose offense has not been released to the media.
Demonstrators expressed strong support for the call for a general strike. “That’s what we need! That’s going to resonate with a lot of people!” one protester exclaimed.
A young technology worker expressed concern, saying, “The tech jobs that used to pay $100,000 don’t exist anymore. People are graduating with computer science degrees and can’t find work.”
Over 20,000 protest in San Diego, CA along the US-Mexico border
More than 20,000 people marched through downtown San Diego on Saturday. Protesters expressed deep anger over ICE raids, the use of armed forces against peaceful demonstrators in Los Angeles, the complicity of the Democratic Party and the escalating threat of nuclear war.
The call for a general strike resonated strongly throughout the crowd. Several protesters eagerly asked whether a specific date had been set, reflecting growing support for mass action to oppose the regime and defend democratic rights.
Mark, a mechanic who drove into the city from a rural part of the county, told the WSWS: “The Democrats are complicit, and that’s what really gets me. I’m in my sixties and have donated so much to them for years. If I were to sit and count up how much money I’ve given the Democrats, I think I’d blow my brains out.” Expressing support for mass action, he added, “I’m behind the call for a general strike. I’d even risk my position walking out because this is what needs to be done.”
A college student added, “We are out here because of the genocide in Gaza, honestly. Everything that Trump is doing is connected to more war. All of the attacks on democratic rights here are because of the drive to war. We also just heard about the strikes on Iran, which is really scary. We need to do more to put a stop to this. The Democrats have sat on their hands—they carried out and bankrolled the genocide.”
Massive demonstration of more than 100,000 in New York City: “There’s an attack on our constitutional rights”
In New York City, a demonstration of more than 100,000 people was held in Manhattan. Protesters marched down 5th avenue from Bryant Park to Madison Square Park. Two hours into the demonstration, protesters were still gathering at the start of the march.
“There’s an attack on our constitutional rights,” one protester said. “A lot more Americans oppose this than you think. This isn’t just a coup to take over the US, but it’s like the downfall of capitalism... If there’s a time for a big change, it should be now.'
Hundreds in Baton Rouge, Louisiana: “I stand with immigrants 100 percent”
Early Saturday morning, around 500 people gathered at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge. The diverse crowd denounced the fascist character of the regime, drawing parallels to Nazi Germany. Protesters opposed the assault on immigrants, cuts to social programs like Medicaid, and the use of soldiers against American citizens, which sparked outrage among veterans.
One Army veteran, Eric, commenting on the deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, said, “ Civil disobedience is an American right. It shouldn’t be squashed by the military. It’s protected by the Constitution and the Posse Comitatus Act.” He also denounced Trump’s attacks on constitutional rule, noting, “That’s the first thing stated in the oath for president: to defend the Constitution.”
Asked about uniting the working class in a struggle against dictatorship, he said, “It doesn’t matter what you are—white, Black, brown, gay, straight—it’s all about humans. Uniting everybody is what has made this country great. Separating people like this is disgusting and goes against our core values. Workers just want to live day to day and build an American dream for themselves.”
A young engineer spoke out against cuts to federal agencies. “Trump wants to get rid of FEMA. If there’s enough money for a military parade, then there’s enough money for FEMA.” Referring to the dangers of climate change and the increasing frequency and severity of hurricanes, she added, “We’re from Louisiana—we know what happens here, and it’s only going to get worse. We’re paying all this money in taxes, but where is it going? It should be going back to the people.”
She denounced Trump’s use of the military against political opposition and his ruthless attacks on immigrants. “I stand with immigrants 100 percent,” she said. “I don’t understand how a person can be illegal just for existing in this country. The way Trump is going about it is especially cruel. I’ve seen videos of children in court without lawyers—five-year-olds having to represent themselves. It’s disgusting.”
She agreed that “the Democrats aren’t doing anything,” and added, “I think a movement of workers is exactly what we need. We need the 99 percent to unite and finally take back power from the 1 percent. There’s no reason it should be the other way around.”
Another young worker, Mar, whose parents immigrated from El Salvador in the 1980s, said she was participating to defend immigrants, democratic rights and the constitution.
“I was privileged to be first-generation born here,” she said. “But I have family who aren’t. I have friends who weren’t born here. It’s not right to kidnap people. Going to a job site to look for criminals is kidnapping. They’re looking for ‘illegals’ at schools—but how can a child be a criminal? His only crime is missing his mom during nap time.”
Mar added: “We don’t have a president anymore; we have a dictatorship.”
Mobilize the working class against Trump’s dictatorship!
Statement of the Socialist Equality Party (US)
Download this statement in pdf format.
On Saturday, June 14, protests will take place in more than 2,000 locations across the United States. Following a week of demonstrations, masses of working people and youth are taking to the streets in cities across the country in opposition to Trump’s assault on immigrants and his moves to establish a presidential dictatorship.
All those who are demonstrating must understand that they are confronting a crisis without precedent in more than a century, comparable only to the Civil War. Then, it was a life-and-death struggle against the slavocracy; today, it is a life-and-death struggle against capitalism and the ruling oligarchy.
On the same day as the protests, a massive military parade is being staged in Washington, D.C., following a week of escalating military deployments in Los Angeles. Ostensibly held to mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army, the real purpose of the parade is to pay tribute to Trump on his 79th birthday and to demonstrate his unchallengeable personal control over the military.
The parade is intended as a warning by Trump to all opponents that he governs by command of the armed forces and police. The Constitutional framework of checks and balances is being scrapped. In its place, Trump is establishing presidential rule by decree, enforced through emergency orders, military power and fascistic violence.
Seven Days in June: Trump’s unfolding coup d’état
Statement of the SEP (US) National Committee and WSWS Editorial Board, June 9
The deployment of the military onto the streets of Los Angeles—the second-largest city in the United States—marks a qualitative escalation of the Trump administration’s ongoing, well-prepared coup d’état. While troops patrol the streets of Los Angeles under the pretext of responding to protests, the true epicenter of this operation is the White House.
The historical parallels are to the brutal military dictatorships imposed across Latin America in the 1970s—in Chile, Brazil, Argentina and elsewhere—where capitalist governments, unable to rule through existing institutions, responded to social crises with mass repression, disappearances and terror. What is involved, however, is not the military overthrowing the president, but the sitting president overthrowing the Constitution.
This is the situation as of Sunday night:
On Saturday night, Trump gave the order to federalize the California National Guard, an action opposed by the state’s governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom. By Sunday, approximately 2,000 troops from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, the largest combat unit in the California Army National Guard, had been dispatched to the city.
The US Northern Command is saying that approximately 500 active duty Marines are prepared to deploy in Los Angeles, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has threatened on social media to send in “active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton.” Trump has repeatedly signaled plans to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act, which grants the president sweeping powers to deploy the military and effectively institute martial law.
Stephen Miller, the architect of the administration’s fascistic agenda, has labeled the spontaneous, localized and largely peaceful demonstrations as a “violent insurrection,” in a clear indication of the preparation to invoke the Insurrection Act. Just last month, Miller declared that the administration is “actively looking at” suspending the writ of habeas corpus—a move that would effectively nullify core constitutional protections.
The administration is preparing violent repression, which will go far beyond the brutal crackdown and arrests that have already taken place. In remarks to NBC News on Saturday, “border czar” Tom Homan declared: “If this violence isn’t tamped down, someone’s gonna die, and that’s just a cold fact of life.”
David Huerta, president of SEIU California, was arrested, beaten and jailed during protests. SEIU California represents 700,000 workers across the state. This is an indication of the massive repression targeting the entire working class.
Trump and his allies are using language that is ever more violent and incendiary. On social media, Trump published a fascistic screed targeting “radical left” protesters as “instigators and often paid troublemakers,” who “WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.” Trump has referred to California Governor Gavin Newsom as “Newscum,” and Trump officials have threatened to arrest any government officials who obstruct ICE operations.
What is taking place is not confined to Los Angeles. An editorial in the New York Times cites the comments of Liza Goitein, the senior director at the liberty and national security program at the Brennan Center for Justice, who noted that Trump’s order activating the National Guard authorizes the deployment of troops “anywhere in the country where protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement are occurring or are likely to occur, even if they are entirely peaceful.” That is, it is a preparation for martial law throughout the country.
The 1964 film Seven Days in May depicted the conspiracy of a military-political cabal to take over the government of the United States. Changing what needs to be changed, a similar process is now under way.