Oak Park will play host to a protest against President Donald Trump Saturday, June 14, just one of many such protests happening in Chicagoland and across the country the same day.
The “No Kings” day of protests were scheduled to coincide with the president’s 79th birthday and Flag Day, as protest organizers hope the series of protests will amount to the largest single-day show of opposition to the Trump administration since it took office in January. In addition to the Oak Park protest scheduled for 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Scoville Park, protests are scheduled for Daley Plaza in Downtown Chicago, the Beverly, Edgewater and Jefferson Park neighborhoods of Chicago and other suburbs including Evanston, Elmhurst, Schaumburg, Joliet and Forest Park.
No Kings national organizers expect more than 1,800 community demonstrations on Saturday, according to organizers.
“No Kings is a nationwide day of defiance,” protest organizers said. “From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism — and show the world what democracy really looks like. We’re not gathering to feed his ego. We’re building a movement that leaves him behind. The flag doesn’t belong to President Trump. It belongs to us.”
In April, local organizers held a “Hands Off” anti-Trump rally, which drew thousands of demonstrators to Lake Street. Organizers of those demonstrations said more than 500,000 people showed up nationwide.
June 14 will be marked in Washington D.C. by a large military parade celebrating both Trump and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.
The Army birthday celebration had already been planned for months. But earlier this spring, Trump announced his intention to transform the event into a massive military parade complete with 60-ton M1 Abrams battle tanks and Paladin self-propelled howitzers rolling through the city streets, according to the Associated Press.
A large No Kings protest is planned to march to the White House Saturday, according to the AP.
The weekend protests come on the heels of tense scenes playing out in Los Angeles as Trump ordered more than 2,000 National Guard troops and more than 700 U.S. Marines to intervene in immigration protests demonstrating against the administration’s bid to maximize deportations.
The move marked the first time in decades that the national guard was deployed in a state without a governor requesting it, according to the AP.
“The No Kings mobilizations on June 14 were already planned as a peaceful stand against authoritarian overreach and the gross abuse of power this administration has shown,” No Kings protest organizers said. “Now, this military escalation only confirms what we’ve known: this government wants to rule by force, not serve the people. From major cities to small towns, we’ll rise together and say: we reject political violence. We reject fear as governance. We reject the myth that only some deserve freedom.”
