Seriously, things have been happening. Big things, all over the place. If you’ve been scrolling through your feeds, you know that protests against immigration enforcement have been kicking off in major cities across the US. It’s not just one isolated spot; we’re talking New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, Spokane, Las Vegas – you name it. It feels like a pivotal moment, right? Like people are really saying, “enough is enough.
And get this, a huge chunk of these recent events were part of something called ‘No Kings Day.’ Organizers planned nearly 2,000 events in over 1,500 cities nationwide. The whole idea? To protest what they see as authoritarian moves by the current administration, specifically timed for Saturday, which also happened to be the President’s birthday. Yep, the goal was literally to ruin his birthday, which, you gotta admit, is a pretty direct way to make a point.
New York City was expected to be one of the major hotbeds, alongside Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The NYPD estimated a massive turnout, around 50,000 people participating in demonstrations across the city on that Saturday. And get this – according to an NYPD spokesperson, there were actually no arrests and no incidents of note directly related to those ‘No Kings’ protests themselves. Pretty incredible scale and peace for such a huge turnout, though the context did mention an earlier incident where the NYPD detained a protester near a federal building as tensions escalated on a different day.
Now, let’s talk Chicago, because things there have been buzzing. Days *before* ‘No Kings Day’ even happened, thousands of anti-ICE protesters marched through city streets after a rally downtown. Chopper 7 was overhead, showing the scene, and wow, it caused major traffic headaches for hours. Imagine just trying to get home and being stuck in that! ABC7 cameras caught at least five people being taken away in handcuffs over the afternoon and evening, and police in riot gear even showed up in the Loop.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though. At one point, a demonstration that was mostly peaceful almost turned violent. An ABC7 crew was right there when a car totally sped through the crowd of demonstrators at Wabash and Monroe around 6:15 p.m. Wild, right? An ABC7 crew saw Chicago police officers give a thumbs-up signal, which seemed to suggest that no one was hurt, thankfully. The car was burgundy, and a woman appeared to be driving it, but it wasn’t clear if it was intentional or if they were just trying to escape the area. A police source told ABC7 they were still looking for that driver.
Even after that scary moment, the protesters weren’t deterred. The crowd just kept growing and moving east, ending up in Grant Park pretty quickly by 6:30 p.m. Hundreds kept marching, blocking parts of DuSable Lake Shore Drive by 6:40 p.m., reaching 1,000 people or more. They headed northbound, even passing the ABC7 studio on State Street. Chicago police were there, guiding them through downtown, trying to manage traffic alongside the demonstration.
Of course, all this street activity meant big disruptions. The CTA announced that bus service in the Loop was temporarily suspended, and other buses in the area were experiencing major delays. Officials got proactive, placing plows on some downtown roads and moving Streets and Sanitation trucks onto Wacker Drive. Protesters were spotted crossing the Dearborn Street bridge into River North, then changing direction again, heading southbound on Clark Street.
Later in the evening, things got a bit more tense. A line of officers blocked the crowd’s movement east on Washington Street at State Street. The group shrank down near Macy’s State Street in the Loop, and that’s where some clashes with CPD officers happened around 8 p.m. An ABC7 crew saw one person trying to breach the police line and being taken into custody, and two others were detained as well. Shoving broke out between officers and demonstrators, leading to at least two more people being handcuffed.
Yep, it escalated. At one point, someone threw a water bottle at police, and it looked like it hit an officer in the head or face. That’s when things really shifted; officers wearing helmets and facemasks and carrying batons arrived on the scene shortly after. There was a tense standoff for a few minutes, but thankfully, things calmed down eventually, and protesters were allowed to move north on State Street. Unfortunately, during that time, an ABC7 crew saw people vandalizing a CPD vehicle and CTA property, specifically a couple of Red Line vestibules on State Street. Some loop windows and buildings also got tagged with spray paint.
So, why all this action in Chicago? Protesters said they were speaking out against immigration enforcement happening across the country, including right there in the Chicago area. It’s personal for many of them. Some are children of immigrants, and others are undocumented themselves. One mother of three, who asked ABC7 not to show her face, spoke in Spanish while her infant son held onto an American flag.
Her name is J.C., and she shared her fear. She’s from Ecuador and has only been in the US for less than a year. She said, “We’re fearful of this whole situation and what’s going on in this country, because we’re scared that they’re going to deport us.” This feeling of living in fear under the Trump administration’s deportation orders was a major driving force for demonstrators nationwide. The context even mentioned ICE agents arresting multiple people at an immigration facility in the South Loop just the week before, during what their families and lawyers said was a regular check-in. This stuff hits close to home.
Beyond Chicago’s specific anti-ICE marches, the ‘No Kings Day’ protests brought massive crowds out across the nation. Philadelphia, for example, hosted what organizers called a “flagship” protest. The Philadelphia Police Department estimated that at least 80,000 people marched peacefully from JFK Plaza all the way up the Ben Franklin Parkway to the famous Art Museum steps.
It wasn’t just a march; it ended with a big rally featuring speakers like the Reverend William Barber, Rep. Jamie Raskin, and Martin Luther King III. The crowd was remarkably diverse in age, with a pretty even mix of young and old, often with parents and grandparents attending alongside kids and grandkids. Many people were waving and wearing American flags, alongside a huge number of signs and banners referencing authoritarian aspirations and caricatures. There was also a notable presence focused on Palestine and the war in Gaza, especially among the younger folks, showing some mild ideological differences even within the larger group. One protester, V.R., who identified as sympathetic to the pro-Palestinian group, felt some organizers used a “good” protester model, aiming to be “less radical and more palatable to get more middle-of-the-road liberals,” even though they felt the struggles were “all connected.”
The speakers at the Philly rally covered a bunch of topics. Reverend Barber apparently evoked Kim Jong Un while talking about the military parade and authoritarian ambitions, outlining a strategy for engaging poor and low-wage nonvoters. Rep. Raskin spoke about the sovereignty of the American people and hit on typical Democratic talking points. Martin Luther King III wondered aloud how his parents would feel about current events and criticized the tariffs as un-American. Jadon George, a Philadelphia resident who watched the protest, described the whole thing, especially the rally speeches, as “maximalist.” He noted, “There was antiwar commentary, there was pro-immigration commentary… Teachers’ unions addressed the crowd. People aligned with the Palestinian cause held a protest within a protest on the sidelines… They certainly tried to drill down on immigration and immigration enforcement as a galvanizing issue. Everyone wanted a shout-out, and everyone wanted to be heard.”
Back in Chicago for ‘No Kings Day,’ residents really came out in force, adding to the days they’d already spent in the streets protesting Trump and ICE raids. It was described as a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. One chant that echoed through the streets was, “We stand with L.A., immigrants are here to stay!” The protest felt like an outpouring of all the anger and fear that had built up over the past 143 days since the inauguration. Signs reflected a range of concerns: “Feed kids, not egos,” one read, while another connected healthcare cuts to military spending: “If there’s money for a parade, then there’s money for Medicaid.”
ICE and deportations were definitely front and center for many in the Chicago crowd. With a strong Mexican community, the city had been rumored to be a target for ICE raids even before inauguration day. Even though Los Angeles had been the main focus recently, Chicagoans were clearly keeping their guard up and making their voices heard. People draped Mexican flags over their shoulders and held signs that didn’t mince words, like “¡Chinga la migra!” and one that cleverly played on the city’s reputation: “In Chicago summer, ICE melts.”
Remember those sisters we mentioned earlier? Isamar, Lucelvy, and Emily Velazquez, along with their cousin, were out there because, as Isamar put it, “we’re all daughters of immigrants.” Lucelvy proudly added, “We’re born and raised in Chicago, and we’re loud and proud about it.” Emily, who is a Marine Corps veteran, wore her Marine Corps flag around her shoulders while marching. She spoke powerfully about the military deployment against protesters in LA, saying, “Trump is using the military against his own people.” She continued, “We take an oath to protect the constitution. The president is going against the oath we take. It’s like a slap in the face.” That really hits you, doesn’t it? A veteran feeling like the president is violating the oath she took.
Los Angeles has really been at the heart of this national movement. It’s where unrest initially erupted the weekend before, leading to the president ordering in the National Guard. The context described a pattern there: things were often mostly peaceful during the day, but a “bad element” would come out at night and cause trouble. The author reporting from LA for ‘No Kings Day’ had a strong take on who that “bad element” was, pointing fingers at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for allegedly stirring things up.
Downtown LA had been under a curfew, set at 8:00 pm for several nights, and the text described how the enforcement seemed to be creeping up, causing massive inconvenience and economic problems for the hundreds of businesses and 80,000 residents in the area. On ‘No Kings Day,’ after a huge morning protest estimated between 30,000 and 100,000 people swarmed downtown, the Sheriff Department was described as getting “antsy” that not enough people left the Civic Center area quickly enough. The reporter arrived late, checked out Stephen Miller’s birthplace (Santa Monica, described as having a massive protest), and spent a couple of hours in LA, leaving just before 4:00 pm.
During that time, the reporter saw protesters doing exactly what officials had asked for all week: exercising their First Amendment rights. People were waving flags, chanting, and supporting each other with water and energy bars. The most aggressive thing witnessed was apparently a piece of performance art – a man standing still with three blocks of ICE slowly melting in front of him, accompanied by ominous music. At the Roybal Federal Building, National Guard troops stood guarding the entrance while hundreds of protesters mostly yelled things like “Shame!” and “Leave!”
But then, according to the text, the Sheriff Department “agitators” just called a dispersal order at 4:00 pm, a full four hours before the curfew was set to start. Their claim? That they were provoked by people throwing rocks and bottles. The reporter, based on their experience and hours of what they called “documentary evidence,” put their confidence level that this claim was a lie at “99.9 percent.” That’s a pretty strong statement!
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell also weighed in on the situation in Los Angeles, especially regarding the unprecedented deployment of federalized National Guard and Marines. He told CNN that he did not support President Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard, stating the protests were “nowhere near” a level of unrest requiring that kind of response. He outlined the usual protocol: use internal police resources, mobilize the department, request mutual aid from law enforcement partners *before* calling in the National Guard.
Chief McDonnell also spoke about those arrested by the LAPD. He described some as organized groups of ‘Black Bloc’-type protesters, referring to the tactic of dressing in all black and concealing faces. He called them “anarchists, if you will,” and said they were “very sophisticated.” He mentioned they had “radio communications,” “move around,” and “monitor police channels,” even creating distractions to draw police away from potential arrest scenes. He confirmed that weaponry found on these individuals included hammers used to break up concrete to throw at law enforcement, along with shrapnel-embedded commercial-grade fireworks. Approximately 400 people had been arrested by the LAPD in LA. Despite this, Chief McDonnell maintained that the *majority* of protests in the LA area had been peaceful, especially during the daytime.
The role of the Marines and National Guard deployed to LA was apparently still “not clear” even to the LAPD chief as protests continued for a sixth day. Chief McDonnell mentioned they were understood to be a support entity protecting federal employees and facilities, but he wasn’t sure about the scope of their responsibilities or their abilities related to arrests or dealing with crowds in a city environment, noting it’s “not something that they do every day, certainly.” He planned to seek clarity from the head of the task force overseeing the deployment.
It wasn’t just Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles feeling the heat. Protests were happening in other cities too. In Spokane, Washington, the mayor, Lisa Brown, spoke about the “tremendous fear” among immigrant and refugee communities there. Anti-ICE protests flared up, with large groups blocking roads outside an ICE facility. The police chief, Kevin Hall, reported that more than 30 people had been arrested, mostly for misdemeanors. Police used a device that released smoke into the crowd, described as “inert smoke” (non-toxic, non-explosive), after issuing dispersal orders. The mayor even declared a state of emergency and a curfew in certain areas.
Seattle saw protests continue after dark, with video showing a fire burning on the street near the federal building. People were seen throwing debris and traffic cones into the fire. Video also showed fireworks being thrown into the crowd, causing people to scatter. Seattle’s mayor, Bruce Harrell, encouraged people to “stand up for their values peacefully” and condemned the administration’s response in LA. He also stated Seattle would not cooperate with federal immigration raids. The context also noted anti-ICE protesters burning US flags outside the federal building there on a previous day.
Down in Las Vegas, the Metropolitan Police Department declared an unlawful assembly around a federal courthouse downtown due to protesters engaging in “illegal activity” and issued a dispersal order, warning of arrest or citation for failure to leave.
High-profile figures also weighed in on the administration’s response, particularly the military deployment in LA. California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed Trump’s federalization of National Guard troops, calling it a “political stunt” and arguing it was dangerous because it understaffed five of California’s 14 National Guard fire crews needed for wildfire response. He tweeted that the deployment was “illegal” and “dangerous,” linking it to the battle against a growing wildfire. Former President Bill Clinton criticized the move too, saying Trump “inserted himself into it so he could badmouth California.” Clinton argued that federalizing troops should only happen during huge natural disasters or when local authorities explicitly request help, not to “make a media event” out of something that should be defused quickly.
Public opinion on Trump’s response and the protests themselves seemed divided, according to a Washington Post/Schar School poll. The survey found Americans split nearly evenly on Trump sending the National Guard and Marines (44% oppose, 41% support). Independents leaned toward opposing it (48% oppose, 33% support). Views on the LA protests were also split (39% support, 40% oppose), and whether they were mostly peaceful (35%) or mostly violent (37%) was also contested, with a large number unsure on those questions. The poll was a one-day survey, which the context noted could have larger potential errors.
Police chiefs in other major cities are apparently watching how LA handles these protests very closely. The former Minneapolis Police Chief, Medaria Arradondo, said major city chiefs will be communicating because this type of situation could become the “normal” over the year. He stressed the importance for cities and police chiefs to prepare now and build relationships with organizers and activists to “work together.” He highlighted the need to ensure First Amendment rights are protected for peaceful protest while keeping communities safe, noting that protests against immigration raids had already popped up in New York, Chicago, Austin, and Washington.
It feels like the context is describing a moment where tensions are high, people are motivated by deep fear and anger, and the official response is under intense scrutiny, even from within law enforcement ranks and other political figures. From the personal stories of immigrant families living in fear to the veteran feeling her oath was violated, to the sheer scale of people showing up nationwide for ‘No Kings Day’ with the explicit goal of protesting the president’s actions, it’s clear these events are tapping into powerful emotions and concerns across the country. The energy, the signs, the chants – it all paints a picture of a significant turning point. As one protester quoted in the context put it, “We are not going back. This is an inflection point, a turning point.”
Yeah, things are definitely intense out there, and it feels like this is just the beginning of people making their voices heard on a massive scale. It’s a lot to take in, but seeing how many people are getting involved, from kids and grandkids to veterans, all standing together for what they believe in, it’s a powerful picture of the country right now. What a wild time to be watching history unfold.
