AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.

At least 5 million people joined No Kings Day protests Saturday in the largest day of action against President Trump since his return to office. Protests were held in more than 2,100 cities and towns across the country. In Los Angeles, 200,000 people marched, just days after Trump deployed the National Guard and Marines to the city. Protesters in L.A. included former Marine Melvin Hill.

MELVIN HILL: I’m out here because I was willing to die for the things we have in our Constitution. And right now I think our constitutional rights are being violated, stepped on, trampled on and disregarded by our present commander-in-chief, which would be Donald Trump. I mean, everything looks unlawful to me at this point in America.

AMY GOODMAN: In Philadelphia, over 100,000 people took to the streets. Democratic Congressmember Jamie Raskin of Maryland addressed the crowd.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN: Yes, Donald, the Declaration and the Constitution were written by people who wanted to stop criminal bosses like you from taking state power.

AMY GOODMAN: Major No Kings Day protests were also held here in New York, in San Diego, Chicago, Seattle and other communities large and small. In Lyons, Colorado, a town of just 2,100 in the foothills of the Rocky Mountain National Park, hundreds joined the protest. This is Larry Quinn, an Army veteran and longtime Lyons resident.

LARRY QUINN: I’m Larry Quinn, and I’m in Lyons, Colorado, population 2,100. And I’m here because my dad drove trains across France to defeat the Nazis. And then I served honorably also in the Army. And I’m disgusted about the fascist regime we have.

AMY GOODMAN: The size of the No Kings Day protests dwarfed the turnout for a military parade Saturday in Washington, D.C., held on President Trump’s 79th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. The parade reportedly cost as much as $100 million. Democracy Now! spoke to some of the protesters in the nation’s capital.

BRETT HINES: My name’s Brett Hines. I live here in Washington, D.C. And I’m here because I think that this is a waste of resources, when we have hungry children and when we have people going to sleep without a roof over their heads.

DENIS MOYNIHAN: And what does your sign say?

BRETT HINES: The sign says, “They got money for wars, but they can’t feed the poor.” It’s a good line from 2Pac.

AMY: I’m Amy. My sign says “No Kings.” I think that’s the side. Yeah. The other side says “The emperor has no clothes,” from the children’s fairytale or fable. I’m here because the president said that any protest would be met with hard force. I wasn’t planning on coming, but that’s un-American, anti-constitutional, and so I had to come. I was called to come. I also think this is an enormous waste of taxpayer dollars. As someone who got DOGE’d and lost my livelihood and my life’s work, to have them turn around and spend $50 million on this, I think that’s outrageous.

DENIS MOYNIHAN: What type of work were you doing?

AMY: Bringing clean water to poor people.

DENIS MOYNIHAN: And what’s happened to that program, as far as you know?

AMY: It’s gone.

AUBREY LOWE: My name’s Aubrey Lowe. I was a captain in the Army for eight years, so I’m a veteran. I deployed to Afghanistan once. I’m from El Paso, Texas, originally. I was a little nervous coming out today, because I heard that peaceful protest might be met with a big force, in somebody’s words. And so, I let my folks know where I was going. I let friends know. And I’m glad that I’ve been able to be here without being heavily harassed. So, that gave me some hope.

AMY GOODMAN: Army Captain Aubrey Lowe, among those protesting Trump’s parade in Washington, speaking to Democracy Now!’s Denis Moynihan.

For much of Saturday, news networks showed split screens of Trump’s poorly attended military parade alongside footage of the massive No Kings protests. Here in New York, organizers say as many as 200,000 people gathered at Bryant Park before moving down Fifth Avenue to Madison Square Park. Democracy Now! was there.

PROTESTERS: This is what democracy looks like! Tell me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!

JASHAUN SADLER: Hi. My name is Jashaun Sadler, he/him. And I am a father. I’m a guidance counselor. I’m a community member and world citizen. And I’m here now because I want to make sure that we preserve our democracy. I want to make sure that all people in this country are safe, regardless of if they’re an immigrant, regardless of if they are straight or if they’re gay or whatever they are. Like, everyone deserves to be free and safe.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you say what your sweatshirt says?

JASHAUN SADLER: Yes. It says “Woke: not the insult that you think it is.”

AMY GOODMAN: And who are you?

RUE SADLER: Hi.

AMY GOODMAN: And how old are you?

RUE SADLER: My name is Rue. I’m 15 years old, and I use any pronouns. I’m here because I’ve seen firsthand how much destruction Trump’s impact has caused on especially queer and trans youth. I’ve been in and out of a lot of places like that, and I’ve seen, like, how hard people have taken it. It’s really hard to be a child in a society where you feel like people don’t want you to exist. So, I’m out here for the people who can’t be out here. I’m very lucky to have a supportive father, but I know not everyone does. So I’m out here to give a voice to the people who don’t have one and to show that we’re still here, we’re still out here, we’re still going to be fighting.

AMY GOODMAN: And the fact that there are thousands and thousands of people out here today, what difference does that make to you?

RUE SADLER: It honestly makes me so happy. After the election, I was really worried, because I felt like the adults had kind of failed me, since I couldn’t vote. I was really, like, “You guys had all of the power. You guys could have stopped this.” But people didn’t. And I was so worried. I didn’t even leave my house for a couple of weeks. But now it’s just great that there’s so many people here and that I’m not alone, you know?

AMY GOODMAN: Can you describe your flag to our radio audience — 

RUE SADLER: Yes, of course!

AMY GOODMAN: — in addition to our TV audience —

RUE SADLER: Yes, of course!

AMY GOODMAN: — and hold it up?

RUE SADLER: So, this is the inclusive Pride flag. It has the regular rainbow stripes, as well as black and brown for people of color in the queer community. Also has the trans colors and the intersex flag to support those people, as well.

AMY GOODMAN: It’s Pride Month.

RUE SADLER: It is!

AMY GOODMAN: What do you have to say to President Trump on his 79th birthday today?

RUE SADLER: We’re not scared of you, and I hope you have an awful birthday.

REV. WILLIAM D. CARTER III: I am Dr. William D. Carter III. I am the senior pastor at the Franklin-St. John’s United Methodist Church, which is in Newark, New Jersey. And I came because I do not believe people’s rights should be taken away, no matter their immigration status, no matter their orientation. People should have rights. And there should not be a king. We elected a president, not a king. So, that’s why I’m here today, for this cause.

AMY GOODMAN: What does the sign say that you’re holding?

REV. WILLIAM D. CARTER III: It says “prejudice, cowardice, accomplice.”

AMY GOODMAN: And describe the flag to me.

REV. WILLIAM D. CARTER III: Yes, this is an American flag. Even as a Christian, I believe in the rights of all people, no matter their religious perspective — or, even if they don’t have a religious perspective, they ought to have rights. And that is the United States of America, united. We are united as one.

AMY GOODMAN: Your thoughts on your mayor, the mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka — 

REV. WILLIAM D. CARTER III: Yes, yes.

AMY GOODMAN: — being arrested as he attempted to, what he said was, do his duty to enforce oversight of an ICE jail with three congressmembers?

REV. WILLIAM D. CARTER III: Yeah. I love Mayor Ras Baraka. I think that he is doing a exceptional job. And I think him being arrested demonstrates his passion for the cause and just making sure that all people have rights.

GEORGE: My name is George. I’m 15 years old. And I’m out here because I’m scared of the future.

AMY GOODMAN: Tell me about the flags you’re carrying.

GEORGE: I mean, I’m carrying the American flag and the trans flag, because I think those two represent me, and because I think it’s important to carry the flags that I feel proud of.

AMY GOODMAN: It’s raining. Do you think it’s worth it to be out here?

GEORGE: One hundred percent. I would be out here in a storm. I would be out here if it was pouring. I’m just happy it’s raining on Trump’s parade.

LUCY: My name is Lucy. I’m 16. And I’m out here because I want a future. I am carrying a sign that says “No Kings,” because I believe that in America, we are a democracy. We do not have kings. This is not right, and it needs to stop.

LILY BONGIORNO: My name is Lily Bongiorno. I’m carrying an American flag. I’m here because I am in complete disgust by the injustice of Trump, especially towards immigrants and towards people’s, like, rights. And I think that we should protest that every single day that he is still in office.

AMY GOODMAN: How old are you?

LILY BONGIORNO: I’m 15.

AMY GOODMAN: How old are you? What’s your name? And tell me about your sign.

ASTRID LEMONS: I’m also 15. My name is Astrid Lemons. And my sign says “Defend the Constitution, not the crown,” because I believe what we should be doing is fighting for democracy and fighting for the future of us, the students, the young people, who are going to live in our future. And we want this future to be a place where everybody can say what they want, and nobody is attacked for that.

GEORGIA REAVELY: Hi. My name is Georgia Reavely, and I am 15 years old. I’m here to protest Trump, the Trump administration’s treatment of not only immigrants, but also women and students and, basically, almost everyone in the country. And I think it’s really important that we have so many people here and all over the country and all over the world to show the Trump administration that we’re not going to let this slide, and that we, as people, can protest, and that we can do it in a way where we can get our point heard. And I think it’s important that young people are out here, too. We’re with We the Students New York, which gathers a bunch of students from all over New York City and does protests. We’ve done one before, a walkout in Washington Square Park. Yeah, so.

AMY GOODMAN: And can you describe your double necklace to me?

GEORGIA REAVELY: I’m Jewish, so, yeah, I just liked — it’s a Jewish star. So, I think it is important to — you know, people of all religions and all ethnicities should all be out here protesting the treatment of immigrants here, protesting the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza. I just think it’s really important that we all be out here getting our word across.

CAROLINE GILMAN: My name is Caroline Gilman. I’m 15 years old. And I’m holding a sign that says “Abort the presidency in the second term.” And I’m here to fight for my future and all my friends’ futures and the future generations of all the kids that are younger than us, and every generation that came before us and fought for what we’re fighting for now.

PROTESTERS: One struggle, one fight! Immigrant rights are workers’ rights!

KIMBERLY: My name is Kimberly. I’m 27. I’m here because it’s important to show up for these kind of things, to show up for community. Community is so important. And anything I can do, like you guys, we should all just do, you know?

AMY GOODMAN: And tell me about your flag.

KIMBERLY: Oh, this is the Ecuadorian flag. My parents are both Ecuadorian. I’m very proud to be Ecuadorian. And, you know, so I’m here for the Latino community, for everybody who’s, like, going through some right now, because it’s — the country is a crazy sight right now.

GLENN CANTAVE: My name is Glenn Cantave, and I’m the founder of Spirit. We are working in support of the End Super PACs campaign. As we know, the billionaires fund the elections, right? Like, what this image is implicitly saying is that if you have $200 million, you could just buy it. You and I, maximum contributions we can give us $5,400. It’s insane that corporations can give whatever they want. And so, there was a ballot initiative in Maine last November that made super PACs illegal. Seventy-three percent of Mainers voted for it. And so, their goal is to get it to the Supreme Court. What we do is we use augmented reality art and education to help people envision a world without the billionaires at the center, right? So, like, we’re in New York. Everyone knows that public housing, or housing in general, is way too expensive. So what we’re doing is, number one, we’re showing a dystopic image, as far as where things are going. We have a protopic image of, like, let’s say, REBNY and the real estate lobbies out the way. This could be the future of public housing right here: community gardens, vertical farms, solar panels up top.

AMY GOODMAN: And what about this picture in the middle?

GLENN CANTAVE: So, this is Elon. I honestly don’t think they’re beefing, because they didn’t — I don’t think that Elon and Trump broke up, because they still have the SpaceX contracts. Like, show me the money. But, basically, yeah, the man has $200 million, made $200 billion over the election, highest ROI ever. And he’s pretty much running the show.

AMY GOODMAN: With a crown on his head.

GLENN CANTAVE: Yeah, pretty much. So, our goal is to do public teach-ins and demonstrations with this art, help people imagine a world without the billionaires, have people sign our petition. And then, once we get the process templatized, we want to give other people materials to go to their neighborhoods and do the same.

AMY GOODMAN: Some of the protesters here in New York City, where an estimated 200,000 people marched as part of the more than 2,100 nationwide No Kings Day protests that took place over the weekend. Estimates of upwards of 5 million people protested across the country, the single largest day of protest of President Trump’s second term. Special thanks to Laura Bustillos.

Coming up, we go to Minneapolis, where a former Minnesota House speaker was gunned down with her husband, another state senator and his wife shot multiple times. Stay with us.

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AMY GOODMAN: “Sow ’Em on the Mountains,” rendition of [Stephanie] Coleman and Nora Brown here in our Democracy Now! studio. They recently performed at the Kennedy Center and unfurled a banner protesting President Trump’s takeover of the cultural arts center.