THE LOOP — Scores of Chicagoans will take to Downtown streets Saturday as part of the “No Kings” march, a series of nationwide protests against President Donald Trump.

Listen 🎧

The No Kings march and rally will kick off noon Saturday at Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington St. It is the latest in this week’s flurry of anti-Trump protests locally and across the country as the administration has ramped up immigration raids and sent in military forces to Los Angeles to quell civil unrest.

2:45 p.m. As Many As 20,000 Flood Downtown For ‘No Kings’ Rally, Police Say

Chicago Police estimated around 20,000 people took to Downtown streets Saturday for the “No Kings” march to denounce President Donald Trump, Chief of Patrol John Hein said.

The march took up much of the Loop, the the front of the march blocks away from the tail, which was still making its way through Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive an hour after the lead of the march came through.

Protesters had made their way through the southwest end of the Loop around 2:45 p.m.The driver of a 54th/Cermak bound Pink Line train slowed down at Clark and Van Buren to let off a loud whistle from the train, resulting in loud cheers from protesters.

The march was originally slated to wrap at 2 p.m. By around 2:45 p.m., protesters began filtering back into Daley Plaza after snaking through downtown streets for over an hour and a half. Organizers stationed in tents in the plaza handed out free water bottles to marchers looking to quench their thirsts.

2:15 p.m. Protesters (Peacefully) Shut Down The Loop

The crowd that turned out for Saturday’s “No Kings” rally has effectively shut down the Loop, with tens of thousands of protesters snaking their way through Downtown streets to denounce Trump.

As the head of march hit South Michigan Avenue and Ida B Wells Drive, the end of the protest was still making its way up Wabash Avenue toward Wacker Drive, where the protest then turned south onto Michigan.

The crowd took well over a half hour for the entire group to make its way through the Michigan and Wacker intersection.

Protesters cheered and chanted down Michigan Avenue before turning West on Ida B. Wells drive a little after 2:00 p.m. Police noted that the protest had remained peaceful thus far with zero arrests reported.

“I imagine what people are going to be thinking in 50 to 100 years from now,” protester Ella Stucky said. “The way we look back on the Civil Rights movement or opposition to dictatorships abroad, and now we’re seeing that today. In 50 years people are going to look back on now and say ‘I can’t that was happening in America.’”

1:45 p.m. Massive Protest Marches Past Trump Tower

Waves of protesters took over Wacker Drive and marched past Trump Tower, with the group yelling expletives against the president and chanting “Whose streets, our streets!”

It took the group well over 15 minutes to make it way through the intersection of Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue, where a logjam formed as a group of protesters on Michigan Avenue joined the main group.

Protesters chanted and interacted with boaters and tourists as they hit Michigan Avenue.

Police brass walked in front of the protest, including Supt. Larry Snelling and Counterterrorism Chief Duane Devries. Police leaders confirmed no arrests have taken place so far, as the march has been peaceful with no incidents.

1:20 p.m. Marchers Take To Downtown Streets Behind ‘No Kings’ Banner

A massive crowd of anti-Trump protesters have left Daley Plaza and are marching north through the Loop towards Trump Tower.

Another group of protesters split off from the main group and began marching south on Dearborn Street.

Chants of “No Kings!” reverberated through the street.

Hundreds of police officers escorted the crowd through downtown and cordoned off side streets. Dump trucks and snow plows were used to block off bridges over the Chicago River, and the Magnificent Mile was closed to car traffic north of the river.

Mexican and Americans flags waved as a dance circle formed around percussionists Marcos Sanchez and Sandra Morales, who were playing a Cumbia groove together on the corner of Dearborn and Randolph. Sanchez played a Guiro, a common instrument found in Latin America, while Morales used a bucket and a wooden spoon.

“We don’t want every protest to be about doom and gloom,” Sanchez said. “Music brings people together. We want joy in our communities!”

Sanchez, who said he wanted to fight for the Latino community, mentioned that some of those close to him were living in fear of ICE raids.

“It’s my duty to be out here fighting for them,” Sanchez added. “And soon [Trump] will come for everyone.”

1 p.m. Tens Of Thousands Set To March On Downtown Streets

Protesters began lining up behind a large “no kings” banner as the march was set to start near Daley Plaza. Chicagoans from all walks of life attended the rally, with more than a few protesters bringing out props.

For example: On Washington Street between State and Dearborn streets, a man held a Donald Trump piñata as protestors of all ages took turns hitting it with a stick.

Parents Matt Meador and April LaCroix brought their three young children to the protest in a stroller fitted with a sign reading “My parents taught me to stand up.”

“Trump is attacking people at the margins, and we’re privileged people, but he’s going to eventually come for us, too,” LaCroix said.
“It’s easy to think stuff like this doesn’t matter, but I was telling the kids, if nobody shows up, we don’t make a point. Every single person matters.”

Meador emphasized the danger ICE raids pose to students and peers of his children.

“These deportations affect every kid,” Meador said. “Our kids’ classmates are afraid. We don’t want to see people in our communities get forced out.”

Mandy Ross traveled from the western suburbs to attend Saturday’s rally with a handmade sign that read “I’d Rather be a Childless Cat Lady than a Soulless Rat Bastard,” a reference to comments made by now-Vice President JD Vance in 2021 .

She was initially in the middle of the crowd in Daley Plaza, but stepped away to the edge of the rally on Dearborn Street near Madison Street to take a breather.

“I’m just really disgusted about what’s been happening in my name, as a United States citizen,” she said. “The kidnappings of people who are doing everything right, a lot of people who have committed no major crimes, or any crime for that matter, being taken off the streets and sent to a detention camp in El Salvador — it’s disgusting.”

12:25 p.m. Massive Crowds Gathers As Officials Urge ‘Peaceful’ Protest

Senator Dick Durbin, U.S. Rep Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, CTU president Stacy Davis Gates and other officials addressed a massive crowd in Daley Plaza around 12:15 p.m. Saturday after organizers urged a “non violent, peaceful protest.”

Media members estimated tens of thousands of people were gathered near the Loop plaza as the march was set to kick off.

“When I look out at this gathering I don’t see Daley Plaza, I don’t even see a city, I see America standing up for it’s rights,” Durbin said in a speech to the crowd. “I see a country that decided in 1776, ‘no more kings’ in America.”

Speakers blasted Trump in speeches before the march. American Civil Liberties Union spokesperson Ed Yohnka lambasted the Trump administration’s “authoritarianism” and accused the president of targeting marginalized communities across the United States, including LGBTQ+ people and immigrant communities.

“Donald Trump is amassing power to create terror, to sow fear and to destroy the lives of those who do not fit his ugly, dark vision of America,” Yohnka said. “He is terrorizing our neighbors and our neighborhoods in pursuit of this destructing, damaging mass deportation program in Chicago and around the country.”

He then led a thunderous chant through the crowd of “No Kings! No Kings!”

11:30 a.m. Thousands gather ahead of march

Thousands of people gathered at Daley Plaza by 11:30 a.m. for Chicago’s anti-Trump “No Kings” march, one of more than 2,000 planned across the country Saturday.

Protesters held signs that said “MAGA: Morons Are Governing America,” “Dissent Is Patriotic” and “Rise Up and Resist.”

Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin” and Gil Scott Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” blasted from speakers as attendees waited for the rally to kick off at noon.

The event is being organized by Indivisible Chicago and numerous local political groups, unions and other organizations.

Indivisible Chicago volunteer Sally Schulze said protesters will march north on Dearborn Street to Wacker Drive, pausing across the river from Trump Tower. They will then head south on Michigan Avenue and end somewhere back in the Loop, possibly in Federal Plaza.

Schulze said organizers aren’t exactly sure how many people will attend Saturday’s protest, but that the number could exceed 20,000.

“President Trump keeps acting like he’s got a crown on his head. We are here to remind him that this is a country that is built on its democracy, that we have checks and balances, that we have separation of powers, we have due process. Every single person is here to remind him that we do not put up with kings in this country,” she said.

Ron, who wished not to share his last name, carried a sign with the words “You Suck!” scrawled across a taco along with a smaller blue sign below that read “Pendejo.” Images of tacos have been used to antagonize Trump after a Wall Street Journal article reported on an acronym used to describe the president: “Trump Always Chickens Out.”

“Trump has been targeting the Latino community with the ICE onslaught,” Ron explained. “So we have to show out today. The only way we stop him is if we mobilize, and it’s important to keep everything peaceful. If there’s a lot of property damage, that plays into the Republican’s hands.”

A large police presence had also gathered Downtown in anticipation of the march.

Washington between Clark and Dearborn and Dearborn from Madison to Randolph are closed off by police before the march began. City snow plows and other trucks are also staged Downtown, and they are regularly used to block of streets.

Saturday’s rally comes a few days after thousands of Chicagoans took to the streets Tuesday to protest against recent Immigration and Custom Enforcement raids locally and across the country.

Organizers said Tuesday’s marches were a show of solidarity with Los Angeles, where thousands of National Guard troops and Marines were deployed and a curfew was set after protests erupted there following immigration raids . It was also intended to protest similar tactics used by federal agencies in Chicago, where at least 10 people were detained at check-ins under a monitoring program for immigrants last week.

Police said that 17 people were arrested during Tuesday protests in Chicago , including four on felony charges — which include aggravated battery and criminal damage to government property. Some vandalism to police cars and other property was visible during the demonstration, although the march remained mostly peaceful.