Protesters demonstrate in Philly ahead of Trump's military parade; lawmakers pledge to 'fight' any deployment of troops here

As President Donald Trump was preparing to celebrate his 79th birthday Saturday in Washington with a military parade honoring the U.S. Army’s 250th service anniversary, Vietnam veteran Herbert Smith stuck close to home.

The 76-year-old West Philly resident said he would rather be in Philadelphia, where organizers of the nationwide “No Kings” rallies held their flagship march amid a tense landscape that has emerged over incendiary anti-ICE protests not only in Los Angeles, but also here in the city.

“This is a dictatorship here,” Smith, a Marine, said. ”We made a mistake putting him in, now we’re paying.”

Hours after the "No Kings" rally, some marchers moved to protest at Seventh and Arch streets.

On their way, one of the organizers was arrested near City Hall. An officer who asked not to be named said the group of about 50 people had been moving around Center City protesting President Donald Trump's administration.

"Bring them home,” protesters chanted outside Federal Detention Center, surrounded by police on bikes.

President Donald Trump has made no direct threat to send troops to Philadelphia as he has to Los Angeles.

But echoing comments made by Gov. Josh Shapiro this week, Democratic state lawmakers from Philadelphia said Saturday they would oppose any effort to deploy the National Guard or Marines to the city.

“We will fight it,” said state Sen. Nikil Saval, who joined the march on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. “We’ll fight it in the courts…and I think people will come out to protest.”

State Patrol Col. Christina Bogojevic asked people “out of an abundance of caution” not to attend any of the “No Kings” protests that were scheduled for across the state on Saturday.

The warnings come after two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses were shot.

Melissa Hortman, a former Minnesota House Speaker, and her spouse were shot and killed early Saturday in their Brooklyn Park home. A second state lawmaker, Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, were shot multiple times in Champlin and were wounded. Officials said the shootings were politically motivated.

Everybody wanted to fist-bump the mailmen.

They wore flash from the American Postal Workers Union and reminded people to support the United States Postal Service amid renewed threats of privatization from President Donald Trump.

But the trio of current and retired postal workers needed little reminding with this crowd. They drew nothing but love from their perch along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway protest route, where people shouted “we love USPS!” and thanked them for their work, fist bump after fist bump.

Eagles don’t mind the rain.

Nancy Kenney — no relation to the former Philadelphia mayor — peeked out from the plastic screen affixed to her protest suit: an inflatable bald-headed bird.

The 55-year-old nurse from Riverside, NJ, was glad to have a conveniently rain-repellent getup for Saturday’s protest on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Had Delores Lombardi's late husband, who worked in the University of Pennsylvania dental school, been alive to see the cuts to science and medical research by President Donald Trump's administration, he would have been distraught, she said.

"It breaks my heart to see the funding cut back – that will result in deaths," said Lombardi, a 69-year-old resident of Upper Darby.

Lombardi is particularly worried about disease and pharmaceutical research that's now at risk of disappearing. She recalled her husband's delight mentoring graduate students on NIH-funded research projects.

Bubbles flew in the air as thousands of people marched to the Philadelphia Museum of Art chanting “this is what democracy looks like.”

Senior couple Denise and Howard Trubman held hands among the crowd. They have been coming to protests since Inauguration Day, but today felt different to them.

“We all have to do something because he is over reaching,” said Howard Trubman as he fixed his Phillies hat.

Protest organizers could have expected that some pro-Palestinian demonstrators would participate in the "No Kings" rally.

Before noon, members of this group gathered at 15th and Arch. Explicitly pro-Palestinian signs and chants separated this group from the larger, anti-Trump messaging from large crowds at Love Park nearby.

Protesters waved several large Palestinian flags and wore kiffiyehs. Some signs signaled disapproval of Israel's recent attack on Iran.

A crowd of "No Kings" protesters waited for the SEPTA Regional Rail line to Center City in East Falls — including a cosplayer who mashed together a Founding Father and V for Vendetta, the landmark graphic novel by Alan Moore.

Daniel, a protester who declined to provide his full name because he is a federal employee, said he's been inspired to demonstrate after watching more than half his fellow staff at the region's Housing and Urban Development office get laid off this year.

He's also enraged that his job, assisting litigation that curbs environmental abuses by building developers, has since been pared back.

In Ardmore, hundreds of protesters stretched up and down Lancaster Avenue, donning American flags, protest signs, and Eagles gear.

Passing cars honked in support and the crowd broke out into renditions of “God Bless America” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Suzanne Kane, 65, of Narberth, said she’s worried about the stock market and rising prices.

Protesters across the Philadelphia region will have more to worry about than just the rain.

A wildfire in southern New Jersey is blanketing the Philly region with unhealthy amounts of smoke, reducing air quality and creating potentially dangerous conditions for those with respiratory and heart conditions. 

As of 9 a.m., Philadelphia had “moderate” air quality, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. But the air quality is worse south of the city. 

Protesters in Philadelphia are slated to hit the streets Saturday, just days after 15 anti-ICE demonstrators were arrested following a skirmish with police officers in Center City.

The event is scheduled to begin at noon at LOVE Park. From there, demonstrators plan to march up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where a rally with featured speakers will take place.

The protest in Philadelphia is part of a nationwide “No Kings” action planned by critics of President Donald Trump’s administration, and will coincide with the president’s 79th birthday and a controversial military parade taking place in Washington Saturday evening.

City officials said street closures associated with the "No Kings" protest in Philly will begin early Saturday morning and continue rolling throughout the day as protesters march from LOVE Park to the Art Museum.

The following streets are expected to close from 3 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, at the discretion of police:

Streets will also close near the march’s assembly area beginning at about 10 a.m. until about 1:30 p.m. They include:

The massive military parade that President Donald Trump has long wanted is set to step off from the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday evening, with tanks, bands and thousands of troops.

And the biggest question marks are whether it will be overshadowed or delayed by either the weather in Washington or planned protests in Philadelphia and elsewhere around the country

Falling on Trump’s 79th birthday, the parade was added just a few weeks ago to the Army’s long-planned 250th anniversary celebration. It has triggered criticism for its price tag of up to $45 million and the possibility that the lumbering tanks could tear up city streets. The Army has taken a variety of steps to protect the streets, including laying metal plates down along the route.

No Kings is a national day of action and mobilization against the Trump administration. Organizers say the name is derived from Trump and his administration pushing the limits of executive power and undermining the Constitution.

“In America, we don’t do kings,” organizers say on the event’s website, describing the day as a “response to the increasing authoritarian excess and corruption of the Trump administration.”

This won’t be the first No Kings rally. A No Kings Presidents’ Day protest saw events nationwide, including Philadelphia.