Minnesota will serve as the flagship location for the “No Kings” protest movement on Saturday, with Bruce Springsteen scheduled to perform “Streets of Minneapolis” at the state Capitol in St. Paul, according to organizers. The rally comes as tensions remain high in the state following President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and the deaths of two residents in Minneapolis that were linked to federal officers’ actions.
Organizers designated the Capitol complex as the centerpiece of what they described as a national and international effort, and they told a state oversight agency that as many as 100,000 people could converge on the grounds. They said last June’s event at the same site drew an estimated 80,000 attendees.
More broadly, organizers said they are coordinating a large slate of demonstrations across the country. Ezra Levin, a cofounder of Indivisible and an organizer behind the effort, said more than 3,100 events are being organized in communities across all 50 states, with organizers expecting more than 9 million participants.
Levin said organizers chose Minnesota for the flagship role because it had experienced what he characterized as severe harm under the Trump administration, while he also pointed to what he said was a surge of local organizing in the Twin Cities earlier this year. He said the movement has spread around the world, with rallies planned in more than a dozen other countries.
The St. Paul rally is also expected to draw high-profile performers and elected officials, organizers said. In addition to Springsteen, the program includes singer Joan Baez and actor Jane Fonda, and it also lists Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, along with other national and local activists, labor leaders and elected officials.
Organizers said the “No Kings” protests have taken on a street-festival style in prior rounds, and they said this will be the third round of demonstrations. They said organizers recorded more than 5 million people taking to the streets at more than 2,100 events last June, and more than 7 million people taking part at more than 2,700 events last October.
They also said the protests’ timing is linked to developments in Minneapolis earlier this year, saying plans were already in motion when Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed. Organizers said the deaths came during a surge of around 3,000 federal officers into Minnesota and provided a new focus for the movement.
In the days leading up to Saturday’s rally, organizers said opposition to the war in Iran launched by the United States and Israel on Feb. 28 is expected to draw additional attention to the protests. They said Springsteen came to Minnesota soon after composing “Streets of Minneapolis” to honor Good, Pretti and other residents.
The White House said it does not expect broad-based support for the protests. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement that “The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them,” adding that the planned protests were dismissed as the product of “leftist funding networks” with little real public support.
The AP report also said that in response to earlier “No Kings” rallies, Trump insisted that “I’m not a king” and said the attendees were “not representative of the people of our country.” Springsteen, organizers said, has long criticized Trump, and the tour logo for the “Land of Hope & Dreams” American Tour includes the “No Kings” slogan.
In a statement to The Minnesota Star Tribune before the rally, Springsteen said: “The No Kings movement is of great import right now. When you have the opportunity to sing something where the timing is essential and if you have something powerful to sing, it elevates the moment, it elevates your job to another level.” Organizers said he is expected to sing the song at the Capitol on Saturday and again Tuesday night at the Target Center as he and the E Street band begin their tour.