GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB/AP) – More than 3,100 “No Kings” events are being organized in communities large and small across all 50 states, including nine planned protests in North Central Florida this Saturday.
Organizers claim more than 9 million people are expected to participate nationwide. This will be the third round of “No Kings” protests.
They’re organized by a broad coalition of groups opposed to what they call authoritarianism under President Donald Trump and his attempts to consolidate and expand his power.
North Central Florida ‘No Kings’ Events
For the third round of “No Kings” protests, several additional events are being held in North Central Florida.
Gainesville: Noon – 4 p.m. | Cora Roberson Park, 600 S.W. 6th St. Ocala: 10 a.m. – Noon | Historic Downtown OcalaLake City: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. | Olustee Park, downtown Lake CityStarke: Noon – 1:30 p.m. | Bradford County FairgroundsStarke: 10 a.m. – Noon | RSVP required for addressHigh Springs: 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. | Start at Old Train Depot and march to City HallWilliston: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. | RSVP required for addressDunnellon: 10 a.m. – Noon | RSVP required for addressPalatka: 10 a.m. – Noon | Putnam County CourthouseNationwide Protests Planned Saturday
Minnesota will be the flagship of the “No Kings” protest movement Saturday when Bruce Springsteen performs “Streets of Minneapolis” in a state where emotions are still raw over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and the deaths of two residents shot by federal officers.
FILE – Bruce Springsteen performs at a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Oct. 28, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)(Matt Rourke | AP)
Organizers have designated the Minnesota rally, at the State Capitol in St. Paul, as Saturday’s flagship event. They’ve told a state oversight agency that 100,000 people could converge on the Capitol complex, where last June’s event drew an estimated 80,000 people.
The movement is spreading around the world, said Ezra Levin, a cofounder of Indivisible, the activist group spearheading the events. Rallies are also planned in more than a dozen other countries, he said in an interview, including Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Mexico and Australia. In countries with constitutional monarchies, he said, they call the protests “No Tyrants.”
Besides Springsteen, the St. Paul rally will also feature singer Joan Baez and actor Jane Fonda, who’ve been noted for their activism since the Vietnam War era, and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a hero of the progressive movement, along with a long list of other national and local activists, labor leaders and elected officials.
Levin said the national organizers chose Minnesota due to the controversial immigration operation in the city.
“At the same time, in the Twin Cities earlier this year, we saw some of the most inspiring, neighborly, brave organizing that we’ve seen anywhere in the country, and it serves as an inspiration to all of us,” Levin added.
Organizers announced Saturday’s protests in January, shortly after the killings in Minneapolis of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Plans had already been in the works, but their deaths during the surge of around 3,000 federal officers into Minnesota provided a new focus.
Opposition to the war in Iran, which the U.S. and Israel launched with airstrikes on Feb. 28, is expected to draw even more people to the protests, Levin said.
Trump reacted to previous “No Kings” rallies by insisting “I’m not a king” and saying attendees were “not representative of the people of our country.”
Springsteen came to Minnesota soon after composing “Streets of Minneapolis” to honor Good, Pretti and other residents for standing up against the federal crackdown.
Springsteen has long feuded with Trump, who has called the New Jersey rock icon “overrated.”
“The No Kings movement is of great import right now,” Springsteen told the Minnesota Star Tribune ahead of the rally. ”When you have the opportunity to sing something where the timing is essential and if you have something powerful to sing, it elevates the moment, it elevates your job to another level.”
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