Anti-Trump protesters turn out to rallies in New York, Washington and other cities across country

NEW YORK AP Opponents of President Donald Trump s administration took to the streets of communities large and small across the U S on Saturday decrying what they see as threats to the nation s democratic ideals The disparate events ranged from a march through midtown Manhattan and a rally in front of the White House to a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration marking the start of the American Revolutionary War years ago Thomas Bassford drove from his home selected three hours away in Maine to witness the reenactment of the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the shot heard round the world on April that heralded the start of the nation s war for independence from Britain The -year-old retired mason disclosed he assumed Americans nowadays are under attack from their own administration and need to stand up against it This is a very perilous time in America for liberty he mentioned as he first battles of the war for Independence with his partner daughter and two grandsons I required the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom Elsewhere protests were planned outside Tesla car dealerships against billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk and his role in downsizing the federal regime while still others organized more community-service events such as food drives teach-ins and volunteering at local shelters The protests come just two weeks after similar nationwide protests against the Trump administration drew thousands to the streets across the country Organizers say they re protesting against what they view as Trump s civil rights and constitutional violations including efforts to deport scores of immigrants and scale back the federal leadership by firing thousands of authorities workers and effectively shutter entire agencies A few of the events drew on the spirit of the American Revolutionary War calling for no kings and resistance to tyranny Boston resident George Bryant who was among protesting in Concord a Boston suburb commented was concerned Trump was creating a police state in America as he held up a sign saying Trump fascist regime must go now He s defying the courts He s kidnapping students He s eviscerating the checks and balances Bryant noted This is fascism In Washington Bob Fasick disclosed he came out to the rally by the White House out of concern about threats to constitutionally protected due process rights as well as Social Defense and other federal safety-net programs The Trump administration among other things has moved to shutter Social Prevention Administration field offices cut funding for governing body robustness programs and scale back protections for transgender people I cannot sit still knowing that if I don t do anything and everybody doesn t do something to change this that the world that we collectively are leaving for the little children for our neighbors is absolutely not one that I would want to live commented the -year-old retired federal employee from Springfield Virginia And in Manhattan protesters rallied against continued deportations of immigrants as they marched from the New York Community Library north towards Central Park past Trump Tower No fear no hate no ICE in our state they chanted to the steady beat of drums referring to the U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement Marshall Green who was among the protesters disclosed he was the majority concerned that Trump has invoked the wartime Alien Enemies Act of by claiming the country is at war with Venezuelan gangs linked to the South American nation s administration Congress should be stepping up and saying no we are not at war You cannot use that the year-old Morristown New Jersey resident disclosed You cannot deport people without due process and everyone in this country has the right to due process no matter what Meanwhile Melinda Charles of Connecticut noted she worried about Trump s executive overreach citing clashes with the federal courts to Harvard University and other elite colleges We re supposed to have three equal branches of authorities and to have the executive branch become so strong she explained I mean it s just unbelievable Associated Press reporters Claire Rush in Oregon Joseph Frederick in New York Rodrique Ngowi in Massachusetts and Nathan Ellgren in Washington contributed to this story Source