Thousands of protesters shouting against the aggressive deportation policies of the U.S. President Donald Trump, the war in Iran and other actions took to the streets all over the country on Saturday during the third in a series of rallies called the ‘No Kings’.

Over 3,200 events are to be held in each of the 50 states, following the success of the two past nationwide events that had attracted millions of people.

Massive rallies occurred in New York, Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington, yet two-thirds of No Kings activities were occurring beyond large cities, a near 40 per cent increase over small communities compared with the initial mobilisation of the movement in June, organisers claimed.

TRUMP POSES ‘EXISTENTIAL THREAT,’ ACTOR DE NIRO SAYS

In Minnesota, one of the hot spots in the Trump crackdown on illegal immigration, an enormous gathering took place outside the state capitol in Saint Paul. Numerous people were carrying posters with images of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, American citizens who had been shot dead by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in the year.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz informed the crowd that because they resist Trump and his policies, they are the heart and soul of all that was good about the U.S.

“They refer to us as radicals,” Walz said. “You are right, we have been radicalised – radicalised by compassion, radicalised by decency, radicalised by due process, radicalised by democracy, and radicalised to do everything we can to stand up against authoritarianism.”

Another U.S. Senator, independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a Trump critic who has attempted to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020, also spoke at the Minnesota event. Bruce Springsteen, a musician, sang his song, Streets of Minneapolis, a ballad condemning the ⁠immigration crackdown of Trump and regretting the loss of Good and Preti.

An independent Sanders said, “We will not see this country fall into authoritarianism or oligarchy in America. We, the people, will rule.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee condemned Democratic politicians and candidates who were in support of the rallies.

“It is at these Hate America rallies that the most violent, crazed fantasies of the far-left have a microphone, where the House Democrats are given their marching orders,” Mike Marinella, the spokesperson of the committee, said in a statement.

In New York, tens of thousands of people, who police estimated were crowded in more than 10 blocks of midtown Manhattan. One of the organisers, actor Robert De Niro, wrote that no previous president has been such an existential threat to our freedoms and our security like President Trump is.

Holly Bemiss, 54, explained that she and other participants of the rally in New York were doing the same thing as her ancestors who fought in the American Revolution.

“We struggled to have kings, and we struggled to be free,” she said. It is nothing but repetition.

The crowd in Washington sang pro-democracy slogans and had anti-Trump signs in the National Mall. In Chevy Chase, Maryland, passing by a high-rise assisted-living centre, a group of elderly people in wheelchairs had signs urging passing cars to “Resist tyranny,” “Honk if you want democracy”, and “Dump Trump.”

There was a Dallas event that drew thousands of people, where there were clashes between No Kings protest and counterprotest demonstrations, including one organised by Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right organisation the Proud Boys.

Small fights broke out as counter-protesters blocked streets. The police of Dallas made a number of arrests.

“The opposition has been energised by the policies of Trump,” as was said by a Dallas protester, Chris Brendel.

Brendel said that Trump can be credited with mobilising the dissenters. “I cannot remain by and be silent anymore, just because of my boys and my friends and the future.

Moving ahead before Midterms.”

Los Angeles, retired Burbank, California resident, Theresa Gunnell claimed she participated because everybody should make a stand against authoritarianism, fascism, and greed.

She said, “all Trump is doing is enriching himself at the expense of ordinary Americans.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the arrest of two individuals who assaulted federal law enforcement officers on Saturday after 1,000 people who identified themselves as rioters surrounded a federal building.”

It claimed that two police officers were struck with the cement blocks and are undergoing medical attention in the case at the Roybal Federal Building.

“Several protesters were arrested due to their failure to leave a place in front of a federal prison, the Los Angeles Police Department announced on social media. The federal officials fired tear gas canisters at a crowd after some individuals threw objects across a fence,” police said.

As the U.S. approaches the midterm elections in November that will reshape the composition of the U.S. Congress, organisers consider the activities of the anti-Trump protests to be on the rise and are registering to attend the events in some of the most Republican-oriented states such as Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Utah.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, Trump has dropped to his lowest approval rating since he returned to the White House at 36%.

Such competitive suburban regions, which have determined national elections, are experiencing large increases in interest, according to Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, the organisation that initiated the No Kings movement last year and coordinated the actions of Saturday. She gave examples in the Pennsylvania counties of Bucks and Delaware, in Georgia in East Cobb and Forsyth counties and in Scottsdale and Chandler in Arizona.

“An estimated 4 million to 6 million people on about 2,100 sites nationwide attended the first No Kings event, on the birthday of Trump, June 14, last year. The second mobilisation was held in October with an estimated 7 million people turnout in over 2,700 cities,” according to a crowdsourcing analysis released by prominent data journalist G. Elliott Morris.

The October incident was driven in part by a backlash against a government shutdown, a violent crackdown by federal immigration officials and the dispatching of National Guard forces to the large cities.

The events of Saturday unfolded in the context of what the organisers described as a call to action against the bombardment of Iran by the U.S and Israel, a conflict that is four weeks old.

Morgan Taylor, 45, who was present at the Washington demonstration with her 12-year-old son, said that she was outraged by Trump waging war against Iran, which she described as a stupid war.

“Nobody is attacking us, Taylor said. We do not need to be there.”