Large protests in Chicago area feature participants trained to protest peacefully

(The Center Square) – Tens of thousands of people rallied across Illinois Saturday in organized protests against the Trump administration.

Our Revolution activist James Rodriguez said groups in over 2,000 cities around the country were standing up to President Donald Trump.

“We’re really trying to stand up to Trump and the [oligarchies] and reject any type of idea that our country is going to be run by a king,” Rodriguez told The Center Square.

While the president hosted a parade in Washington D.C. to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, Rodriguez and thousands more joined a coalition of progressive political groups marching in downtown Chicago.

“This is an historic time for American history. We have never seen a president enact military the way that we have ever since the times of Martin Luther King,” Rodriguez said.

Several protesters carried signs with profanities aimed at the president or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but there were no immediate reports of violence at “No Kings” protests in Illinois.

Rodriguez said organizers opposed violence at protests.

“We actually have been doing trainings with everyone that signs on to RSVP for these protests to let them know how to peacefully protest,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said he thought a lot of the violence in Los Angeles last week was started by the military interrogating protesters, though video evidence showed rioters throwing bricks at immigration vehicles, starting fires and more.

One of the organizing groups in the Windy City, Indivisible Chicago, called for a national day of defiance but also urged participants not to engage in violence.

When asked earlier in the week about police presence at protests, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the resistance had one enemy and suggested the enemy was Trump.

Rodriguez said the Chicago rally was intended to support immigrants but not to protest against local police.

“I think Chicago is known as being a large city that’s founded on immigrants. We have a lot of immigrant-owned businesses in Chicago that the [Chicago Police Department] are always supportive of,” Rodriguez said.

Illinois U.S. Reps. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Mike Quigley were among the elected officials who joined the crowd of protesters at Daley Plaza in Chicago’s Loop.

Quigley said in a video on X that residents from across the city were “standing up against the authoritarianism of the Trump administration.”

Groups partnering with Indivisible Chicago included the ACLU of Illinois, the Chicago Federation of Labor, the Chicago Teachers Union, Citizen Action/Illinois, Equality Illinois, Illinois NOW, Trans Up Front IL and Young Dems of Chicago.