New York, 19 October (H.S.): Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in cities across the United States on Saturday for the No Kings protests, a mass mobilization against what they describe as the authoritarian policies of President Donald Trump's administration.

From New York City's Times Square to Washington D.C., Chicago, and Los Angeles, huge crowds gathered for peaceful rallies, holding signs with slogans like Democracy not Monarchy and The Constitution is not optional. The New York Police Department estimated that over 100,000 people protested across the city's five boroughs, with no arrests reported.

Organized by a coalition of over 200 groups, including the ACLU and Planned Parenthood, the nationwide events were a response to what protesters see as a dangerous expansion of presidential power since Trump returned to the White House.

Demonstrators cited concerns over the administration's immigration crackdown, the deployment of National Guard troops to major cities, cuts to federal funding, and a perceived threat to American democracy. I am the nephew of an Italian hero that deserted the Mussolini army and joined the resistance, said Massimo Mascoli, a protester in New York. After 80 years, I didn't expect to find fascism again in the United States.

The protests drew sharp condemnation from Trump's allies, who labeled the events a hate America rally and alleged, without evidence, links to the far-left Antifa movement. In anticipation of the rallies, Republican governors in Texas and Virginia placed their state National Guards on standby, a move Democrats denounced as an attempt to suppress peaceful dissent.

In Washington D.C., Senator Bernie Sanders addressed a crowd of thousands, declaring, We're not here because we hate America, we're here because we love America. President Trump, in a pre-taped interview, dismissed the king label, saying I'm not a king. Solidarity protests were also held in several European cities, including London, Berlin, and Madrid.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar