Washington. A massive “No Kings” protest was held across the country on Saturday against US President Donald Trump’s harsh policies and authoritarian behavior.

Millions of people took to the streets in all 50 U.S. states in support of democracy and against President Trump’s policies. According to organizers, more than 7 million people took part in the protest, which stretched from New York to Los Angeles. Protests were also held near Trump’s residence in Florida and in small towns in the American heartland.

Thousands of demonstrators chanted “This is what democracy looks like!” and chanted “This is what democracy looks like!” at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The colorful posters carried the message “Defend democracy”, while others called for an end to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, which cracks down on immigrants.

Colin Hoffman, a 69-year-old retiree from New York, said through tears, “I never thought that the day would come when I would have to see the death of a democratic country with my own eyes.” We are now in a crisis — the brutality and authoritarianism of this regime is trying to bring us to its knees. ’

In Los Angeles, protesters flew Trump’s giant balloon in diapers. Some waved flags bearing the “Skull Logo”, a popular theme at recent global protests. In Houston, the message “Fight ignorance, not immigrants” caught the attention of citizens.

The demonstration was largely peaceful, but police used non-lethal bullets and tear gas to control crowds in downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported. Los Angeles police said the protesters were “dispersed after a legal order,” but did not release details of the arrests.

Crowds were estimated to be more than 100,000 in New York and 80,000 to 10,000 in Washington. The attendance figures of the organizers could not be independently verified.

Trump responded by posting a series of AI-generated videos portraying himself as the king on his Truth Social platform. In one, he was shown wearing a crown and flying fighter jets and humiliating opponents.

His aides also derided the demonstration as the “Hate America Rally”. House Speaker Mike Johnson described the protesters as a mixture of “Marxist, socialist and pro-Hamas left”.

However, the protesters dismissed the allegations as humorous. “If it’s hate, those critics should go back to school,” said Paolo, 63, who was in Washington. Another protester, Tony, a 34-year-old software engineer, said: “We are hated by the right, but we stand for the truth.” ’

According to Deirdre Siefeling of the American Civil Liberties Union, the main message of the protesters was “We are a country of equality and law.” “We believe in justice, due process and democracy for all. We will not remain silent. ’

Leigh Greenberg, co-founder of the Indivisible Project, strongly criticized the Trump administration’s efforts to send the National Guard to Democratic-led cities — Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago, Portland and Memphis. In his words, “This is an old tactic of authoritarian regimes to silence citizens through intimidation, confusion and intimidation.” ’

Speaking in front of the US Capitol, progressive Senator Bernie Sanders warned that the Trump regime is posing a serious threat to democracy. “We have a president who is trying to concentrate all the power in the hands of himself and his close associates,” he said. ’

“The future of our generation looks bleak,” said Isaac Harder, a 16-year-old student. This is a fascist path and I want to do my part to stop it. ’