Millions of people turned out nationwide to protest the Trump administration on Saturday. It was the third “No Kings” protest since Trump’s second term began.
Billed as a peaceful, pro-democracy movement, those who came out repeated messages against the immigration crackdown, environmental protection rollbacks and federal downsizing that have become hallmarks of the second Trump administration.
Connecticut
Thousands of people flooded the New Haven green on Saturday for “No Kings” protests.
Thousands of people flooded the New Haven green on Saturday for “No Kings” protests.
Protesters of all ages carried signs with messages critical of the Trump administration and its policies.
Bart Forbath, an 82-year-old Vietnam veteran, held a sign that said: “Ready then and ready now to give my life for freedom.”
“Our democracy is very important to me,” Forebath said. “And I mean, we've had men and women throughout our 250 or 270-year history who fought to create and preserve our democracy and keep our country together, and now, in one fell swoop, we have a person who wants to be a dictator, wanting to destroy that democracy. We can't allow it.”
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong (D), one of the state’s most outspoken critics of President Donald Trump, was also in New Haven.
Tong has sued the administration 50 times since last January.
“Some people say that's not your job, Mr. Attorney General, you're not supposed to fight the president,” Tong said.
“Do you want me to fight?” he asked the crowd to a resounding, “Yes.”
Thousands marched in Danbury, a city in northern Fairfield County with a large immigrant population and a mayor who’s outspoken about being an immigrant. And ICE has been unusually active here—second in the state, only to Hartford.
“Unfortunately, what happens very fast is that they come in, they kidnap somebody and immediately leave," said Eva Zegara with Danbury Unites for Immigrants, one of the organizers of the city’s third “No Kings” rally.
“It is something that is frequent, happening often. It’s affecting families, and it’s not stopping.”
Kennedy Schaeffer leads the crowd in a chant. She grew up in Danbury.
“This is really my community," Schaeffer said. ICE is out in these streets, hurting people, breaking the law and acting so unconstitutionally that I can’t stay inside. I have to come out and be part of this.”
It’s her third “No Kings” protest — but her first in Danbury. She said momentum is building.
“I think Trump’s recent actions and orders have made people — maybe not fully open their eyes — but at least peek a little more, resist a little more.”
But will it make a difference?
“My biggest fear is that it’s not enough. If we don’t stand up for our neighbors, they come for us. But more importantly, these are our neighbors. We should care about them, love them and protect them,” Schaeffer said.
More than 2,000 people gathered for a “No Kings” rally along the Bridgeport-Fairfield town line on Saturday.
Protesters lined both sides of the Ash Creek Bridge, which separates Bridgeport’s Black Rock neighborhood from Fairfield, as passing motorists honked in support.
Maxine Greenberg, a neighborhood resident who organized the rally, said the goal was to send a clear message.
“We have to let the world know that we don’t like what’s happening in the president’s office,” Greenberg said. “We have to let the people who are governing this country know how we feel.”
John Fitzpatrick, a marshal at the protest, said events like this help bring people together.
“You see people out here that you may not have gotten to interact with before,” Fitzpatrick said. “For people to meet to discuss what’s going on — local issues, national issues — I think that connection is really important.”
Local organizers say they expect more rallies in the coming months ahead of the November election.
Long Island
In one of several protests held across the island, students from Riverhead High School led marchers to Town Hall and then to the Suffolk County Supreme Court house for a rally, carrying signs that said, “ICE out,” “Rights are for all persons,” and “Defund the oligarchs“.
Close to 1,000 protesters had gathered, including John Neely, a retired teacher from Westhampton Beach. He said he hopes more people will continue to show public opposition to actions like going to war against Iran without congressional approval.
“It's made me a little more optimistic, because now it's affecting people's wallets,” Neely said.
“People who are more or less out of politics or not interested in politics, suddenly are. And Trump's ratings are going down and down and down. And I think everything he's doing is not only hurting our government, hurting our people, but also hurting him, which is the most important thing.”
Riverhead is represented by Republican Rep. Nick LaLota. Some protesters said they’re frustrated with Congress as a whole.
“As an American, as a citizen here, you look around and you really believe that everybody should have the same rights,” said Jerry Silverstein, a protester from Riverhead. “We should follow the Constitution. And when you see the Constitution being eroded by our representative politicians who either are doing things to undo it, or are being silent…I mean, the Congress has just given up its power.”
LaLota’s office has not responded to a request for comment.
One demand at the Riverhead protest was for Long Island’s east end towns to adopt a local law to clarify the role of police in immigration enforcement actions.
No counter-protesters were present in Riverhead during the morning or early afternoon.
"No Kings" Protest Day Photos
