Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch held a security briefing on Friday ahead of anticipated protests on Saturday
Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.
Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Friday that the city is fully prepared for large-scale demonstrations planned as part of Saturday’s “No Kings Day” protests against the Trump administration.
“Thousands of officers will be available to safeguard these protests,” Tisch said during a June 13 press conference. “We have planned around the clock to ensure that those officers are deployed to the right places at the right time.”
NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence & Counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner said the department has been coordinating closely with federal agencies and is prepared to deploy officers specifically trained and experienced in handling protest situations.
The nationwide day of action, timed to coincide with former President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday and a planned military parade in Washington, is expected to draw demonstrators to sites across the five boroughs, including Bryant Park in Manhattan, MacDonald Park in Queens, Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, and Victory Blvd. on Staten Island.
The protest campaign, organized under the banner “No Kings Day,” aims to counter authoritarianism and promote democratic values. According to the organizers’ website, NoKings.org, the movement spans “from city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks.” The group states, “We’re not gathering to feed his ego. We’re building a movement that leaves him behind.”
Adams on Friday reaffirmed the city’s support for peaceful protest, but issued a warning of “zero-tolerance” to those who may engage in disorder. “We will protect the right to peaceful protest,” he said. “But we will not tolerate violence, vandalism, or any form of lawlessness.”
Commissioner Tisch echoed that sentiment. “For those who intend to commit crimes tomorrow, who are coming here to insight violence, to cause property damage, to attack our cops — you will be met with the full strength and determination of the greatest police department in the world,” she said.
“Do not turn your exercise of cherished First Amendment rights into criminal conduct,” she added. “Attacking our officers or police properties will not be tolerated and will be met with a swift and decisive response.”
Tisch also confirmed increased NYPD deployments to “a wide range of religious, cultural and diplomatic institutions across the city,” in response to heightened tensions tied to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
“Do not come tomorrow to bring about any cause of problems,” Adams added, invoking the same warning issued earlier in the week during protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the city, where officials voiced concern about the potential for escalation like that seen in Los Angeles.
Saturday’s protest comes following demonstrations in the city all week over the string of arrests at immigration court houses by ICE officers. Some 86 people were cuffed at a demonstration in Foley Square on Wednesday for clashes with cops that saw objects being hurled and officers wrestling with enraged New Yorkers over the continued ICE detentions in immigration court.
In Los Angeles, the Trump administration deployed 700 active-duty Marines and 4,000 National Guard members in response to similar demonstrations. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other officials have condemned the move, accusing Trump of inflaming tensions.
A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from using the California National Guard to support immigration enforcement efforts in Los Angeles, ruling that President Trump had unlawfully assumed control of the state’s troops. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled late Thursday that the Trump administration may proceed with deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles while the court considers its request for relief during the appeals process.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer earlier in the day ordered that the Guard return to the authority of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, saying the administration violated federal law and the 10th Amendment by bypassing required procedures. The ruling described the mobilization as setting a “dangerous precedent for future domestic military activity.” In a 36-page decision, Breyer said President Donald Trump’s actions “exceeded the scope of his statutory authority” and “must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the governor of the state of California forthwith.”
In response to a reporter’s question Friday on whether the National Guard was needed in New York City, Mayor Adams said there was no need. “We have made it clear to the federal government that just three simple words: We got this,” he said.
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