Four months after President Donald Trump’s critics launched a massive, nationwide protest to denounce his administration and his policies, they’re back at it today with hundreds of “No Kings” rallies planned across the U.S.
It’s the second “No Kings” protest against the administration since Trump took office in January and comes amid an intensifying conflict between federal law enforcement and protesters nationwide.
At least 18 “No Kings” protests are planned in the Inland Empire throughout the day to denounce what some say are increasingly authoritarian practices by Trump and his administration. More than 70 protests are planned throughout the Los Angeles region.
“Every day, it seems like there’s something worse than the day before,” Lorraine Enriquez, president of the Redlands Area Democratic Club, said ahead of the planned protest in downtown Redlands. “We’re standing up as the voice of our community.”
In addition to Redlands, protests were scheduled Saturday in Beaumont, Big Bear Lake, Chino, Claremont, Corona, Crestline, Hemet, Hesperia, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Moreno Valley, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Jacinto, Temecula and Upland.
“We’re in the Inland Empire, an economically suppressed community,” Enriquez said. “People are not able to pay their groceries, their rent, they’re about to lose their subsidies for their health insurance. We can’t believe the rule of law has gone out the door.”
Enriquez pushed back against the idea pushed by some Republicans that the “No Kings” protest is a “Hate America” rally.
“It’s a rally to say that we had a King George, and we don’t have a king anymore and we don’t want a king,” she said. “We believe in the Constitution and all that it says.”
Organizers for the Redlands and Temecula protests said they expect large crowds today.
At the first “No Kings” protests on June 14, they said, crowds exceeded expectations. Redlands organizers expected 500 people to show up, but thousands did, Enriquez said. Robert Blackman, of Indivisible Temecula, said organizers there anticipated 1,000 protesters but more than triple that number joined.
There are reasons to believe today’s turnout will be even larger, Blackman said.
Trump’s crackdown on protests, especially in Democratic cities where he’s attempted to deploy National Guard troops as federal immigration operations have intensified, has ramped up in recent months, drawing sharp rebukes from the administration’s critics.
“There’s a lot more awareness of this one,” Blackman noted, “and the online awareness is what drives to get the young people to come out.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
