‘Layered security’ planned by police for ‘No Kings’ demonstrations in Mass.
Police across Massachusetts, including Boston, are preparing to help make "No Kings" protests happening on Saturday a safe event.
The "No Kings" movement is a "peaceful national day of action and mass mobilization in response to the increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption of the Trump administration," according to the organization's website.
The first event was earlier this year as protests were held across the country on June 14, coinciding with Trump's birthday and a military parade planned in the nation's capital.
There were more than 100 rallies across Massachusetts included people carrying signs, wearing costumes and identifying themselves as members of everything from the Sisters of Saint Joseph to the American Legion, Mass Senior Action Council and the Young Feminist Party.
"This is the end of the beginning," said Ron Bucchino, of Agawam, who attended Northampton's June event. "We are going to be out here for a longtime. We are going to be out here for months. We are going to be out here for years."
The organization is again asking people to come out on Oct. 18.
Events are scattered throughout Massachusetts, including in Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Pittsfield, Greenfield, Provincetown. The events also range in time, with some starting in the morning and others going until Saturday night.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is expected to speak during that city's event.
"This is not a typical rally: learn how to get involved locally at our action tables, participate in creative resistance and enjoy entertainment on our main stage," the Boston event states.
They have also provided three calls to action. These are: joining a community ICE watch group, boycotting "corporations and billionaires that are doing Trump's bidding," and keeping pressure on representatives by calling, emailing and showing up in person.
"We're wicked [expletive]. Wicked loud. Wicked united," the website states.
The organization is stressing nonviolent action and no civil disobedience for Saturday.
It has asked people to "seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values and to act lawfully at these events." Plus, weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to the events.
Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble said state police have been working for awhile to understand the events happening in the Commonwealth and "to make sure that we have a proper security plan in place."
"I am confident that we will have an appropriate security measure out there to ensure that that is a peaceful thing," Noble said during a press conference Thursday.
Noble didn't provide specifics but said it is a "layered security plan," and that all police departments in the state "we will be prepared to deal with whatever we have to."
Still, the ACLU has encouraged everyone in the U.S. to "know your rights" before attending one of the events.
"Make sure you're prepared by brushing up on your rights before heading out into the streets," the ACLU website states.
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