NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents of President Donald Trump’s administration took to the streets of communities large and small across the U.S. on Saturday, decrying what they see as threats to the nation’s democratic ideals.
The disparate events ranged from a march through midtown Manhattan and a rally in front of the White House to a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration of “the shot heard ’round the world” on April 19, 1775, marking thestart of the Revolutionary War250 years ago.
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Thomas Bassford was among the demonstrators at the reenactment of the Battles of Lexington and Concord outside Boston. The 80-year-old retired mason from Maine said he believes Americans are under attack from their own government and need to stand up against it.
A member of the public holds a sign reading “We Did it Before” while re-enactors mingle on the day of the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington, the first battle of the American Revolution, at the Lexington Battle Green in Lexington, Massachusetts, April 19, 2025. Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters
“This is a very perilous time in America for liberty,” said Bassford, who was with his partner, daughter and two grandsons. “I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”
In Denver, hundreds of protesters gathered at the Colorado State Capitol with banners expressing solidarity with immigrants and telling the Trump administration: “Hands Off!” People waved U.S. flags, some of them held upside down to signal distress.
A demonstrator carries a sign depicting President Donald Trump as Elon Musk’s golden retriever in the Oval Office, during a protest against Trump, Musk, tariffs, deportations, and a variety of other policies, outside the White House in Washington, D.C., April 19, 2025. Photo by Allison Bailey/Reuters
Thousands of people also marched through downtown Portland, Oregon, while in San Francisco, hundreds spelled out the words “Impeach & Remove” on a sandy beach along the Pacific Ocean, also with an inverted U.S. flag. People walked through downtown Anchorage, Alaska, with handmade signs listing reasons why they were demonstrating, including one that one that read: “No sign is BIG enough to list ALL of the reasons I’m here!”
Demonstrators protest against the policies of President Donald Trump and the role of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in Palo Alto, California, April 19, 2025. Photo by Andrej Sokolow/picture alliance via Getty Images
Elsewhere protests were planned outside Tesla car dealerships against billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk and his role in downsizing the federal government. Others organized more community service-oriented events such as food drives, teach-ins and volunteering at local shelters.
The protests come just two weeks after similarnationwide demonstrations.
People protest against the administration of President Donald Trump in front of the State Capitol building in Saint Paul, Minnesota, April 19, 2025. Photo by Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images
Organizers say they oppose what they call Trump’s civil rights violations and constitutional violations, including efforts todeport scores of immigrantsand to scale back the federal government byfiring thousands of government workersandeffectively shuttering entire agencies.
Some of the events drew on the spirit of the Revolutionary War, calling for “no kings” and resistance to tyranny.
People gather to protest against the administration of President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, April 19, 2025. Photo by Hasan Akbas/Anadolu via Getty Images
In Anchorage, a colonial reenactor in colonial garb held up a “No Kings” sign while the person next to him hoisted cardboard that read in part: “The Feudal Age is OVER.”
Boston resident George Bryant, who was among those at the Concord protest, said he is concerned that the president is creating a “police state.” He held a sign saying, “Trump fascist regime must go now!”
“He’s defying the courts. He’s kidnapping students. He’s eviscerating the checks and balances,” Bryant said. “This is fascism.”
In Washington, Bob Fasick, a 76-year-old retired federal employee from Springfield, Virginia, said he came out to the rally near the White House out of concern over threats to constitutionally protected due process rights, Social Security and other federal safety-net programs.
A woman who identifies herself only as “Ofamerica” protests silently outside the White House during a demonstration against President Donald Trump, tariffs, deportations, a variety of other policies, and Elon Musk, in one of many protests that took place nationwide, in Washington, D.C., on April 19, 2025. Photo by Allison Bailey/Reuters
The Trump administration, among other things, has moved toshutter Social Security Administration field offices,cut funding for government health programsandscale back protections for transgender people.
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“I cannot sit still knowing that if I don’t do anything and everybody doesn’t do something to change this, that the world that we collectively are leaving for the little children, for our neighbors is simply not one that I would want to live,” Fasick said.
In Columbia, South Carolina, several hundred people protested at the statehouse holding signs with slogans such as “Fight Fiercely, Harvard, Fight.”
Thousands of demonstrators rally in Chicago, Illinois, as hundreds protests and community events against the Trump administration were held across the United States on April 19, 2025. Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
And in Manhattan, protesters rallied against continued deportations of immigrants as they marched from the New York Public Library north toward Central Park and past Trump Tower.
“No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” they chanted to a steady drumbeat, referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Protesters rally and march for immigrant rights, mass deportations and the release of Abrego Garcia from the El Salvador prison, in Los Angeles, California, April 19, 2025. Photo by Jon Putman/Anadolu via Getty Images
Marshall Green said he is most concerned that Trump invoked the wartime Alien Enemies Act of 1798 by claiming the country is atwar with Venezuelan gangslinked to the South American nation’s government, even though a recent U.S. intelligence assessment found no coordination between them.
“Congress should be stepping up and saying no, we are not at war. You cannot use that,” said the 61-year-old from Morristown, New Jersey. “You cannot deport people without due process, and everyone in this country has the right to due process no matter what.”
Meanwhile Melinda Charles, of Connecticut, said she worries about “executive overreach,” citing clashes with the federal courts,Harvard Universityand other elite colleges.
“We’re supposed to have three equal branches of government,” she said, “and to have the executive branch become so strong, I mean it’s just unbelievable.”
Associated Press writers Claire Rush in Oregon, Joseph Frederick in New York, Rodrique Ngowi in Massachusetts, Nathan Ellgren in Washington and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed.
