Massive protest rebukes ‘faux king’ Trump at peaceful Downtown rally

More than 10,000 people in Pittsburgh joined others nationwide Saturday peacefully protesting against what rally-goers and speakers called the increasing authoritarianism of President Donald Trump’s administration. 

Large demonstrations have taken place across the country in recent days amid the federal government’s crackdown on immigration, including in Los Angeles, where the president called in the National Guard and the Marines to quell protests. 

Demonstrators in Downtown filled several blocks around the City-County Building, holding handmade signs, waving flags, chanting and singing. The crowd began forming more than an hour before the scheduled start of the rally, and drivers of dozens of vehicles going past blared their horns in support of the protest before Grant Street was shut down. The 50501 protest movement organized the event.

The crowd heard from science educators, union workers, immigrant advocates and others who said that Trump administration policies were causing grievous harm to the country.  

Jaime Martinez, community defense organizer for local Latino advocacy group Casa San Jose, said that while much attention is focused on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s actions in California, communities locally are also being terrorized by ICE agents. 

He told the story of a 17-year-old boy in Coraopolis who Martinez alleges was followed by several SUVs while riding his bike before being chased by nine adults. In another instance two weeks ago in Robinson, Martinez said, a man who did not speak English was put in a choke hold by an ICE agent because of a simple lack of communication. 

“That grief that you feel, that grief that I’m feeling, I want you all to know it’s not weakness. It’s fuel,” Martinez said. “Today’s not the day to check out, folks. Today’s the day to roll up.”  

Veterans in attendance decried the Trump’s military parade in Washington that also occurred Saturday as well as his administration’s deployment of Marines in Los Angeles.

“Since I was in the military, there’s no way I can imagine myself with an M16 against a fellow American,” said Air Force veteran Anna Lisa Haughwout, 66, of McKeesport. “The military is not supposed to go against its own people. That’s not what I signed up for for 24 years.”

Trump said that he deployed the National Guard and Marines to stop what he claims are riots, but protesters said the demonstrations have been largely peaceful except when authorities have provoked confrontations. 

At the beginning of the Pittsburgh rally, organizers urged the crowd to stay peaceful and to not engage with any outside agitators. The diverse crowd that included children, seniors, college students, veterans, union members and others was boisterous but conflict-free, save for some heckling of police officers who were directing traffic.

The crowd largely remained focused on what they viewed as harmful policies and unnecessary actions by the Trump administration.   

Marcus Townsend, 51, of West Mifflin, who attended the rally with his wife, said he was disturbed watching ICE’s chaotic immigration crackdown that has resulted in the arrests of numerous American citizens. He also noted that the military parade in Washington that just so happened to fall on Trump’s birthday was the type of move he would expect from a dictator. 

“I wasn’t going to sit at home and watch the news and complain anymore and not show my support for my fellow Americans, whether they’re Black or white or Mexican,” Townsend said. “It doesn’t matter what you are, if you’re on this land, you have rights. I’m standing here today to show my support because if I don’t, then I’m just being complicit.” 

Many in the crowd carried handmade signs that poked fun at the president. One read “America has no king except Elvis.” Another said that in Pittsburgh, we only worship one Don and included a drawn image of local rock star Donnie Iris. Numerous signs included creative phrasing, such as “No Faux King Way.” Yet another said “Deport Deez Nuts.” 

The demonstration had a strong cross-industry union presence. 

Natalie Duleba, local secretary of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, whose members have been on strike against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette since October 2022 — the longest ongoing work stoppage in America — identified a connection between corporations that mistreat workers and attacks on workers’ rights by the federal government. 

The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, whose members produce the Pittsburgh Union Progress, has won several important court cases upholding rights that the PG and its owners, the Block family, have tried to take away. But because of weak labor law enforcement in the United States, the union said, the newspaper continues to ignore the decisions.  

“There’s nothing in this country without the working class,” Duleba said. “Unions work to guarantee rights companies and owners like the Blocks want to take away.”

Local activist and singer songwriter Mike Stout and the Pittsburgh Labor Choir provided musical entertainment at various intervals between speakers.

Around 2 p.m., the demonstrators marched several blocks from the City-County Building to the Federal Building at the corner of Grant and Liberty Avenue. A few more speeches were made there before the group returned to city hall.  

In another protest organized by Indivisible Pittsburgh, groups including the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, Partners for Progress SWPA, Progress PA, Monday’s with(OUT) McCormick, TransYouniting, Pittsburgh Healthcare Workers and Scientists (PGHS), 50501 Pittsburgh and John Lewis Action, listened to speakers and then marched from historic Freedom Square to the City-County Building, according to a Public Source report. 

The rallies were among several that took place across Western Pennsylvania, including in Beaver, Butler and Washington counties.

Another protest being billed as “From LA to Pittsburgh: ICE Out!” has been planned for 1 p.m. Sunday at the City-County Building. The next “No Kings” action has been scheduled for July 5.