Thousands are expected to flood downtown Dallas on Saturday to protest the policies of the Trump administration.
Dallas is one of some 2,500 cities across the country with planned “No Kings” protests. In North Texas, protests are planned in Fort Worth, Plano, Denton and Frisco, among others.
The latest round of protests against President Donald Trump comes as anger has grown over the deployment of National Guard troops in U.S. cities, the ongoing government shutdown and crackdown on immigration.
“The president thinks his rule is absolute,” the No Kings website says. “But in America, we don’t have kings and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty.”
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In June, millions of protesters around the U.S. turned up for No Kings protests. Organizers say they expect a bigger turnout Saturday.
Participating organizations include the American Civil Liberties Union, American Federation of Teachers, Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible and MoveOn.
Republicans have accused Democrats of keeping the government closed to rally support for the protests. On Fox News, House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, called the protest a “hate America rally” and “pro-Hamas” gathering.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced he will deploy the state’s National Guard to Austin ahead of the protests. Abbott said in a news release he is also sending Texas Rangers, state troopers and Department of Public Safety personnel to Austin. It’s not clear if Guard troops will be deployed to North Texas.
“Violence and destruction will never be tolerated in Texas,” Abbott said.
Texas Democrats criticized the move, accusing Abbott of trying to intimidate people exercising their First Amendment right.
“Sending armed soldiers to suppress peaceful protests is what kings and dictators do — and Greg Abbott just proved he’s one of them,” House Democratic Caucus chair Rep. Gene Wu of Houston said in a statement.
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