Historic crowds expected at Saturday ‘No Kings’ rallies in NV

Tens of thousands of Nevadans are expected to turn out for “No Kings” protests Saturday against President Donald Trump.

Nine rallies are scheduled so far, taking place in Carson City, Elko, Mina, Reno, Henderson, Hawthorne, Pahrump, and two in Las Vegas.

Aerial Torres, northern Nevada organizer for the group 50501, which stands for “50 protests, 50 states, one movement,” said people need to stand up to the Trump administration.

“It’s assault, after assault, after assault on our rights, that are supposed to be constitutional rights,” Torres stressed. “As well as trying to ignore due process and the things that our democracy has been founded on.”

The Trump administration defends its actions, saying they are carrying out the will of the people after winning last November. The rallies are sponsored by a number of grassroots organizations, including Indivisible, Hands Off Our Bodies and labor groups.

It is estimated the last “No Kings” protest in June drew nearly 21,000 attendees across Nevada. Nationwide, more than 2,400 nonviolent “No Kings” protests are planned for Saturday.

Torres argued the Trump administration’s mass layoffs, cuts to social programs, political prosecutions, immigration raids, and failure to lower prices are motivating more citizens to get involved.

“There’s a lot of talk of that if we can get 3.5% of the population mobilized, that we can accomplish our goals of getting one, Trump out of power, and reversing a lot of his executive orders,” Torres asserted.

The figure of 3.5% of the U.S. population would be roughly 12.5 million people. Organizers are calling on protesters to leave weapons at home and keep the protests peaceful.

Related: ‘No Kings’ Protest in Las Vegas