Updated on: March 28, 2026 / CBS/AP
Crowds protested Saturday against the war in Iran and President Trump’s policies at “No Kings” rallies across the U.S. and in Europe, with Minnesota serving as the national flagship event, organizers said. U.S. organizers estimated earlier rounds of the protests drew more than 5 million people in June and 7 million in October; they said at least 8 million participants joined more than 3,300 events worldwide on Saturday.
Thousands packed the Minnesota Capitol lawn and surrounding streets in St. Paul, some holding upside-down U.S. flags, a historical sign of distress. The program included Bruce Springsteen, who performed “Streets of Minneapolis,” a song he wrote after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents and in tribute to Minnesotans who protested the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement. Before playing, Springsteen lamented the deaths and praised continued resistance to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.
The bill of speakers and performers also featured Joan Baez, Jane Fonda, Sen. Bernie Sanders and numerous activists, labor leaders and elected officials. Organizers estimated more than 200,000 people attended the St. Paul rally, surpassing numbers from the 2017 Women’s March. St. Paul police closed several streets around the area. The protests were mostly peaceful, though some arrests were reported.
In Los Angeles, officers deployed tear gas near a federal detention center downtown; the LAPD later arrested people for failing to disperse. In Denver, police declared an unlawful assembly and used smoke canisters after a small group blocked a road, and some protesters threw canisters back at officers; at least eight people were arrested, with a ninth detained later. San Diego police said about 40,000 people marched there.
Rallies ran from New York City and Philadelphia to smaller communities like Driggs, Idaho. Thousands rallied in Manhattan and downtown Philadelphia, shutting roadways. Indivisible Chicago and the ACLU of Illinois organized a large demonstration in Grant Park. Other events were held across Texas and Detroit, with at least 40 gatherings scheduled in Southeast Michigan.
The White House dismissed the nationwide protests as driven by “leftist funding networks” and said they lacked broad public support. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson called the events “Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions” and suggested reporters were the main people covering them.
Protesters voiced a long list of grievances beyond immigration enforcement in Minnesota, including opposition to the war in Iran and rollbacks of transgender rights. In Washington, hundreds marched past the Lincoln Memorial onto the National Mall, carrying signs reading “Put down the crown, clown” and “Regime change begins at home,” ringing bells, playing drums and chanting “No kings.” Demonstrators included performers and satirical groups mocking ICE.
Organizers said about two-thirds of RSVPs came from outside major urban centers, including communities in conservative-leaning states such as Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, South Dakota and Louisiana, as well as suburban areas in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona.
“No Kings” events also took place in more than a dozen other countries, from Europe to Latin America to Australia, Indivisible co-executive director Ezra Levin said. In places with monarchies, some protests were billed as “No Tyrants.” In Rome, thousands marched, criticizing Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government after a failed judiciary referendum and condemning Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran, calling for “a world free from wars.” In Paris, a few hundred people—mostly Americans living in France alongside French labor unions and rights groups—gathered at the Bastille. In London, protesters against the Iran war carried banners reading “Stop the far right” and “Stand up to Racism.” Ada Shen, a Paris organizer, said she protested “all of Trump’s illegal, immoral, reckless, and feckless, endless wars.”
Across cities, the demonstrations mixed music, speeches and street actions, with largely peaceful gatherings punctuated by clashes and arrests in some locations. Organizers and civil liberties groups said the turnouts were intended to show widespread opposition to the administration’s policies and to encourage continued public resistance.