The protests in Washington grew to hundreds of people. They chanted, “Shame,” and “Trump must go now!” And they marched to the White House as police officers stood watch from a distance. Organizers say they’re hopeful this will be the biggest day of resistance since Trump took office.
But there’s no sign the escalating tension between the federal government and activists has tamped down turnout, especially given Trump’s repeated warnings that he’ll send in the National Guard to “crack down” on rioters and other lawbreakers. Top Republicans in Congress, including the House speaker and Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, have smeared the “No Kings” event as a hate America rally and filled with the “pro-Hamas wing” of Democrats and the “antifa people.” The president himself has hinted that federal agents will respond with brutal force.
As a result, some local governments have acted to calm the mood by shutting down parks and using crowd control munitions to disperse gathered citizens. And at least one state governor, Republican West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, has signed on to bring 300 or so troops to support the Washington deployment.
Protesters see this sabre-rattling as more proof that the government is waging war on dissent. They hope the heightened threat of violence will convince some activists to stay home, while others will take their movement to a higher level with non-cooperation tactics that can help pressure companies and other pillars of civil society to bend to Trump’s will.