The city is preparing for thousands of demonstrators to pack the streets in Center City for the second “No Kings” protest.

Around Independence Mall, temporary “No Parking” signs are now posted, and barricades are at the ready. 

“We expect a very large crowd, thousands and thousands of people,” said Meg Berlin, with Indivisible Philadelphia.

Berlin is helping organize the second “No Kings” protest and rally on Saturday. It’s one of more than 2,000 events planned across the country to protest against the Trump Administration and its policies.

At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the president dismissed the protests, saying, “They have their day coming up. I hear very few people are going to be there.” 

“We are doing this is in the place where our Constitution was written and on the other end of the mall where our Constitution is celebrated,” Berlin said.

The protest is set to begin at City Hall, and demonstrators will march to Independence Mall for a rally.

“Traffic is going to be difficult, the road is going to be closed, so just keep in mind if you’re going to be traveling in the area,” said Sgt. Eric Gripp with the Philadelphia Police Department.

Organizers say some 95,000 people gathered in LOVE Park and at the Art Museum in June for one of the largest “No Kings” rallies in the country. This protest will look a bit different.

“We’re not the flagship event, so we expect it to be smaller because there will be more events all over the country,” Berlin said.

Police say they will still be ready, and they’re encouraging everyone to protest peacefully.

“We’re holding over our day work shift, and we have our later shifts coming in four hours early,” said Gripp, who added that Philadelphia police will also be working with state and federal partners.

The city of Philadelphia said the first round of road closures will begin Saturday around 11 a.m. and last until approximately 1 p.m., starting with John F. Kennedy Boulevard from Juniper Street to 15th Street and North Broad Street from John F. Kennedy Boulevard to Arch Street, for the assembly area.

A full list of the street closures and parking restrictions for the demonstration is available online. The road closures will be lifted as streets are cleared of pedestrians and serviced.

Along with the “No Kings” rally that begins in Center City, Philadelphia will also have rallies in Roxborough and Northwest Philly. But there will also be events in the Pennsylvania suburbs, New Jersey and Delaware.