Thousands of people rally against the administration of President Donald Trump at the “No Kings” protest on Oct. 18 in Saratoga Springs. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Thousands of “No Kings” protesters lined the sidewalks in Saratoga Springs on Oct. 18. Dozens of similar rallies will be held in New York and around the country on Saturday.(Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
A sign announcing Saturday’s “No Kings” rally at Central and Colvin avenues in Albany is seen last week on Western Avenue in Guilderland. (Lori Van Buren/Times Union)
Lori Van Buren/Times Union
Amy Frank joined thousands of people protesting administration of President Donald J. Trump at the “No Kings” protest on Oct. 18 in Saratoga Springs. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Thousands of people rally against the administration of President Donald Trump at the “No Kings” protest on Oct. 18 in Saratoga Springs. (Jim Franco/Times Union)
Jim Franco/Times Union
Thousands of “No Kings” protesters lined the sidewalks in Saratoga Springs on Oct. 18. Dozens of similar rallies will be held in New York and around the country on Saturday.
Jim Franco/Times Union
Thousands of upstate residents are expected to join millions of fellow demonstrators Saturday at “No Kings” rallies planned across the country to protest the policies of President Donald J. Trump.
With the third round of such rallies ahead, Carol Margulies is preparing for thousands to gather in the streets of Saratoga Springs.
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Margulies is a member of Indivisible ADK/Saratoga, a local chapter of a national activist group responsible for organizing “No Kings” rallies across the country. Demonstrators in the Spa City are planning to line both sides of Broadway from Congress Park to Van Dam Street as people drive by and honk their car horns in protest. Margulies said the “honk and wave” is meant to show broad disapproval of Trump and specific policies initiated by his administration, including the ongoing immigration crackdown orchestrated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“The ICE police force, or law enforcement, is terrorizing and traumatizing part of our population,” Margulies said.
Trump and his supporters have mocked the rallies, with the president saying such gatherings would not occur under a king. Last year, Trump said he felt attendees were “not representative of the people of our country.”
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More than two dozen rallies will be held in the Capital Region and Hudson Valley.
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The “No Kings” website shows that two events are taking place in Albany. At 11 a.m., protesters will gather outside the Capitol to demand Trump’s impeachment. At 1 p.m., a street march and car caravan will begin as participants line the sidewalks of Central Avenue.
According to the event’s online listing, more details about the march, including parking information, will be provided before the event. Indivisible is managing the registration, data and communications for the events in Saratoga Springs and Albany.
Where will the protests happen?
Protests are scheduled around the country, from city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks.
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Planned protests in the Capital Region:
Albany: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at West Capitol Park.
Albany: 1-3 p.m. at Central Avenue between Colvin Avenue and North Allen Street.
Ballston Spa: 10 a.m.-noon at Milton Avenue and Front Street.
Clifton Park: 1-2 p.m. at Clifton Commons.
Glens Falls: 10 a.m.-noon at Glens Falls City Park.
Greenwich: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Mowry Park.
Lake George: 1:30-2:30 p.m. at Warren County Municipal Center.
Rensselaerville: 1-3 p.m. at Rensselaerville Town Park.
Salem: 10-11 a.m. at Bancroft Public Library.
Saratoga Springs: 2-4 p.m. at Congress Park.
Schuylerville: 10-11 a.m. at Spring and Broad streets.
Schenectady: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Balltown Road and State Street.
Waterford: Noon-3 p.m. at Broad and First streets.
Athens: Noon-2 p.m. at Second Street between North Washington and North Franklin.
Beacon: 1-3:30 p.m. at Memorial Park.
Catskill: Noon-1 p.m. at Greene County Supreme Court building.
Cornwall: Noon-2:30 p.m. at Main Street plaza sidewalk.
Ellenville: 11 a.m.-noon at U.S. 209 and Canal Street.
Gardiner: 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at 137 Main St.
Goshen: 1-3 p.m. at Village Green.
Hudson: 2-4 p.m. at Seventh Street Park.
Kingston: 3-4:30 p.m. at Academy Green Park.
Middletown: 3:30-6 p.m. at the former Boston Market on Route 211.
Monroe: 1-2 p.m. at Lake Street and New York 17M.
New Paltz: 1-2 p.m. at 25 Plattekill Ave.
Newburgh: Noon-2 p.m. at Colden and Second streets.
Port Jervis: Noon-2 p.m. at Veterans’ Memorial Park.
Poughkeepsie: 11 a.m.-noon at the ShopRite Shopping Center on Route 9.
Poughkeepsie: 12:30-2:30 p.m. at Victor C. Waryas Park.
Rhinebeck: 10 a.m.-noon at Lions Minipark.
Saugerties: Noon-1 p.m. at Market and Main streets.
Tannersville: 10-11 a.m. at New York 23A and Church Street.
Warwick: 10-11:30 a.m. at Railroad Green.
Woodstock: Noon-1 p.m. at Village Green.
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Previous ‘No Kings’ protests have drawn millions across the U.S.
In June, the first “No Kings” rallies were organized in nearly 2,000 locations nationwide, including cities, towns and community spaces. Those protests followed unrest over federal immigration raids and Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where tensions escalated with protesters blocking a freeway and setting vehicles on fire.
They were also organized in large part to protest a military parade in the nation’s capital that marked the Army’s 250th anniversary and coincided with Trump’s birthday. “No Kings” organizers at the time called the parade a “coronation” that was symbolic of what they characterized as Trump’s growing authoritarian overreach.
In response, some conservative politicians condemned the protests as “Hate America” rallies.
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During a second round of protests in October, organizers said demonstrations were held in about 2,700 cities and towns across the country. At the time, Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, pointed to Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, his unprecedented promises to use federal power to influence midterm elections, restrictions on press freedom and retribution against political opponents, steps he said cumulatively represented a direct threat to constitutionally protected rights.
The big protest days are headline-grabbing moments, but Levin said groups like his are determined to keep up steady trainings and intermediate-level organizing in hopes of growing sustainable resistance to the Trump administration’s actions.
“This isn’t about Democrats versus Republicans. This is about ‘Do we have a democracy at all, and what are we going to tell our kids and our grandkids about what we did in this moment?’” Levin said. “I think that demands the kind of persistent engagement.”
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Levin expects the third round of “No Kings” to be “the largest protest in American history” and expects 9 million people to turn out.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.