Thousands of people streamed onto the green grass of Union Park in Chicago, the streets of downtown Los Angeles and the Supreme Court steps in Washington on Thursday to celebrate labor victories and oppose actions of the Trump administration.
Demonstrators said they were angered by President Trump’s plans to cut education funding, roll back workers’ rights and carry out mass deportations. “He’s tearing apart our Constitution,” said Bill Hincks, 40, a union leader from the Chicago suburb of Oak Forest.
Labor groups made up a significant portion of the rally in Chicago on Thursday, though pro-Palestinian activists and anti-Trump demonstrators swelled the ranks. The event was one of more than 1,000 protests in cities across the country, organized by a coalition of grass-roots activist groups known as 50501 to coincide with traditional May Day labor rallies.
A separate effort, billed as a National Law Day of Action, brought legal professionals to the Supreme Court and other locations to push for judicial independence and oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to weaponize the Justice Department and intimidate law firms.
Large crowds were anticipated in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, where police closed streets. The area around City Hall in Philadelphia will also be shut down for an evening event where Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, is slated to speak.
A rally in downtown Los Angeles focused largely on migrant rights. Jose Servín, 31, held a sign that read, “Come for one of us, come for all of us.” Mr. Servin is an organizer representing a statewide coalition of advocacy groups marching on Thursday.
“I found a place here where I can succeed, where I can thrive, where I can plant roots,” said Mr. Servín, who immigrated as a child. “And I’m going to fight like hell to protect that.”
Organizers in small towns say they are also expecting dozens, if not hundreds, of participants at protests in front of municipal buildings and public schools, with some wearing red to indicate support for public education. In Norman, Okla., and Sauk City, Wis., demonstrators planned to stand on bridges and display signs for motorists.
The Trump administration has engaged in efforts to quell dissent in corporate America, the civil service, universities and the media. But in recent weeks, demonstrations opposing Mr. Trump’s agenda, governing style and expansion of executive power have increased in size and frequency.
Town halls have become unruly and combative, pushing many Republican lawmakers to avoid facing voters altogether. And collective efforts by universities, nonprofit groups, unions and even some law firms have slowly started to build momentum against the administration.
Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, a Democrat who first ran for office in 2018 because of his revulsion to Mr. Trump’s first term, called for an even larger outcry during a speech on Sunday in New Hampshire. He is expected to join the Chicago protests.
“It’s time to fight everywhere and all at once,” he said. “Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now.”