Thousands of people lined the streets of South Florida on Saturday to protest the Trump administration as part of a third wave of ‘No Kings’ protests across the United States.
They filled several blocks leading to Boca Raton’s City Hall, crowded behind the barricades along Fort Lauderdale’s “freedom corner” and gathered at Hollywood’s Young Circle among other locations, including Boynton Beach, Lake Worth Beach and Coral Springs. A separate group also had plans to march to Mar-a-Lago later in the evening.
The latest wave of protests comes amid a war in Iran that has cost the U.S. billions of dollars and driven up gas prices, scrutiny over Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein and an ongoing ICE crackdown that has targeted areas with large immigrant communities such as Palm Beach County. Many of those same issues — among several others — drove protesters out of their homes and onto the sidewalks Saturday.
“The economy, the corruption, the war, what is there to like?” said Adam Levesque, 59, who said going to protests is “totally against my nature” but felt compelled to join in Saturday. “There’s no way we should be bombing women and children in Iran. No reason for us to do it. It puts the men and women in our military in danger for no reason.”
Levesque was among approximately 2,000 people who gathered along the sidewalk by Boca Raton City Hall on Saturday morning, carrying signs reading “Health care, not war” and “Iran away from the Epstein files” as cars honked in support. The crowd skewed older, though some young adults and families with young children also joined in.
Paula Bloom, 72, a veteran who served in the Air Force, said her biggest worries were immigration, women’s issues and veterans’ rights.
“They’re taking away veterans’ rights, they’re taking away our benefits,” Bloom said. “One of the things that was promised to us when we enlisted was we would be taken care of. And fortunately for me, I still am. But every time I go to a clinic, I’m like, ‘I’m glad you’re still here.’”
Friends Jackie Teneyck, 33, Alec Solaski, 31, and Alex Sarria, 32, came together from other parts of South Florida to attend the Boca Raton protest. Among their concerns: the war in Iran, women’s rights and fascism.
“It’s just more lies from Trump,” Solaski said of the Iran war. “The president of peace, obviously not. It really complicates our relationship with Israel. Who’s pulling the strings on that one and how much are we in Israel’s pocket? Why are we even there? What’s the point of even being there?”
Many of the protesters adorned themselves in the patriotic colors and iconography of MAGA, but with a twist. They waved giant American flags, dressed as the Statue of Liberty and wore U.S.A.-themed T-shirts and shorts. In Fort Lauderdale, some donned red caps that resembled MAGA hats but with white text that read, “He’s on the list.”
“Nothing that this man is doing right now is appropriate as president of the United States of America,” said Lydia Norris, 65, who attended the Boca Raton protest with her 26-year-old son, Jack, 24-year-old daughter, Shelby, and Shelby’s close friend, 24-year-old Naomi Nichols. “From his demeanor to his grift, it’s all embarrassing and not presidential at all. I’d like to say it’s anti-American.”
Nichols said her biggest concern was immigration. “The no-due process, the unlawfulness, all of that,” she said. “The torture, imprisonment, the kidnapping.”
Jack Norris joined several other protesters in criticizing the growing divide between the rich and poor and the role of money in politics, citing lucrative online bets tied to the war in Iran as an example.
“All the billionaires have way too much money,” Norris said. “It’s really a billionaire problem.”
Another few thousand protesters lined up behind the barricades along Fort Lauderdale’s “freedom corner” at East Oakland Park Boulevard and North Federal Highway on Saturday morning amid a cacophony of car horns and protesters blowing whistles. One woman dressed as Statue of Liberty walked down the sidewalk silently with duct tape over her mouth.
“People need to rise up, and I think more and more people are waking up,” said Robin Paneque, a New Jersey resident who attended the protest while on vacation in South Florida. Paneque said she saw ICE agents in the Newark airport while flying out on Thursday.
“Their presence is almost a middle finger to the TSA people who are working so hard without pay while they’re standing around doing nothing and getting paid,” she said.
Several protesters of all ages said they were personally worried about the cost of living, especially with the cost of gas going up.
“Gas has gone up, and everything will follow because everything is dependent on the price of gas,” said Ron Miller, 62, a veteran who lives in Fort Lauderdale. “Groceries, clothes, housing, and even if it changes, it’s not gonna change right away.”
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Cass Zangwill, 24, of Coral Springs, attended the protest with her partner, Orchid Zangwill. It marked the day of their four-year anniversary. But she and her partner worry they may be forced out of South Florida, where they are both from, due to the cost of rent.
“We feel like we have no future,” she said.
A beachy scene unfolded in the hot afternoon sun on the sidewalk along Fort Lauderdale beach near the intersection of Sunrise Boulevard and Jimmy Buffet Memorial Highway, where another couple thousand protesters listened to “Get Up, Stand Up” by Bob Marley and waved signs.
The protests were largely peaceful by mid-afternoon, save for a few heckling counterprotesters. At one point, four people on a golf cart stopped beside the protesters in traffic. One of the occupants gave them a thumbs down while a woman shouted “what kind of drugs are you on?”
Nearby, Mitshuca Parent sat under an umbrella to escape the sun with her husband, Kesny. She moved to the U.S. from Haiti in 1983 when she was 11 years old, she said. Kesny Parent, also an immigrant, said he previously worked for the Department of Defense while Mitschuca said she has worked in education in Broward for two decades.
“This country has given so much to me, and I’ve given so much to this country,” said Mitshuca Parent, adding, “everyone in this country is an immigrant. We’re what makes this country great.”
But she questions whether the public knows the actual impact Trump’s immigration crackdown will have on jobs and the numbers of children attending school.
“I think we don’t know how much we’re hurting the country right now,” she said.