'No Kings' rallies planned for Saturday on Long Island, NYC and nationwide, to counter Trump birthday military parade

Local foes of Donald Trump’s presidency are planning to rally across the region, part of "No Kings" protests in hundreds of American cities scheduled on the same day as Trump’s 79th birthday and a military parade in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States Army.

"In America, we don’t do kings," says the protest organizer's website, nokings.org. "The corruption has gone too. far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings."

On Long Island, protests are planned from western Nassau to the Twin Forks: in Orient, East Hampton, Sag Harbor, Hampton Bays, Riverhead, Patchogue, Port Jefferson Station, Babylon, Huntington, Mineola/Garden City and Port Washington. 

In New York City, the protests include Forest Hills, Queens; outside Grand Central Terminal; Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn; at Columbia University.

And there's a No Kings NYC March meetup at 1 p.m. at 42nd Street and Park Avenue — the entrance to Pershing Square — with a march to follow from 2 to 4 p.m., according to the website of an organizer, the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Halle Brenner-Perles, a leader of the group Show Up Long Island, a grassroots group of residents, said at least 2,000 people are expected at the Nassau County courthouse demonstration and she hopes to have a peaceful event.

"We’ll say to our country, we need to stand up for each other, for democracy and for the Constitution," she said. "It’s Flag Day and the flag belongs to the people of America. Donald Trump thinks it belongs to him, that’s why he’s having a military parade with tanks, like a strongman authoritarian would do."

Emily Kaufman, a committee member with the group LINC, Long Island Network for Change, said: "This is a mass movement happening across the United States. We are part of a movement that is unifying this country toward standing up for democracy, the rule of law and our First Amendment rights and what this country stands for."

For the Nassau County courthouse event — to be held between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. — Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said marchers are expected to head to the county seat, the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building.

"My cops are always ready, so we’re prepared," Ryder said. "We have extra officers that will be out there keeping the crowd, to make sure that everybody stays calm."

He added: "We have respect for the First Amendment. It allows you to peacefully protest. You can voice your concerns, you can march, you can protest and walk the distance."

In an interview with Newsday on Thursday, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said, “People are entitled to exercise their free speech, and as long as they follow the rules, there’ll be no issues. If they engage in any illegal activity, or they don’t follow the instructions of our police officers, they’re going to be arrested.”

Protests, some nonviolent, others large and sometimes volatile, have broken out across the country, particularly in Los Angeles, over the aggressive tactics used by the Trump administration to detain and deport immigrants, according to The Associated Press. A curfew has been imposed in Los Angeles to restore order after nighttime rioting. 

The Los Angeles protests are centered in the downtown part of the city near City Hall and a federal jail where some immigrants are being locked up; Trump has ordered the deployment of the military to police the protests, against the wishes of California’s governor and others.

In New York City, there have also been protests, and arrests. The NYPD's press office did not comment when asked by email about plans to handle Saturday's protests.

"We’re in contact with our partners in L.A. and around the country to share intelligence of the tactics that have been used, and we are abreast of what is happening throughout the country," Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said. "As a result of that, we will be prepared for this weekend. We expect everyone to obey the laws. We respect people’s right to protest peacefully and lawfully. We’ll have our officers enforcing all laws and we’ll be ready for protests."

He wasn’t specific about what intelligence and tactics were shared.

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine said a large presence of police would deter illegal or violent behavior and would be "working as our peacekeepers."

"You have a point of view, great, this is America, and you can express it," Romaine said, "but you can't express it through violence or property destruction. That's not right. That's the wrong way to go about it.

Newsday's Andrew Ehinger contributed to this story.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified LINC, The Long Island Network for Change.