Thousands turn out for spontaneous ‘No Kings’ protest in Midtown Manhattan

Thousands of demonstrators and a handful of elected officials turned out for a “No Kings” rally in Manhattan on Sunday, voicing their opposition to the Trump administration in the wake of the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, and U.S. military actions in Venezuela.

“This is an urgent moment for everyone to stand up and fight fascism at home and abroad,” former city comptroller and current congressional candidate Brad Lander told the Daily News on the sidelines of the rally.

“We’ve got a rapidly advancing authoritarian regime, and we’re out here to say we’re not going to stand for it,” he said. “[Not going to] let them kill our neighbors and abduct immigrants and take over foreign countries. So that’s why we’re out here.”

Lander addressed a crowd— the NYPD estimated it around 2,000 people though organizers say the count was significantly larger —
who gathered in the southeast corner of Central Park. Protesters held signs reading slogans such as “Melt ICE,” “ICE Out Now,” “Defend Venezuela,” “IKEA has better cabinets,” and “No Kings, Only Queens.”

“While Trump talks about the U.S. running Venezuela, we know that in the U.S., people are struggling to survive. A quarter of Americans are out of work. Parents cannot afford to feed their families. Rent is unaffordable,” said Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of New York City Democratic Socialists of America, explaining the protest.

“Every airstrike, every military operation and every occupation cost money that could be used to strengthen the working class in the United States, could be used to strengthen cooperation abroad. Latin America does not belong to Donald Trump. Latin America belongs to the people of Latin America,” he added.

“No one here is a fan of Maduro, but Trump doesn’t get to decide what happens in countries around the world,” Lander said about Maduro.

Imam Muhammad Shahidullah, who was also in the crowd, said “as Muslims, we believe every single human the representative of the God.”

“In the name of God, we stand here with the grave and righteous anger,” he said. “We remember the lives taken by ICE. Human beings, not numbers destroyed by policies of fear and cruelty. Let history remember that we did not stay silent as a human, as a representative of the god.”