What to know about Philly’s ‘No Kings’ protest on Saturday

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Thousands are expected to gather in Center City this Saturday for a massive protest against President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies.

The afternoon event is one of hundreds set to take place in towns and cities across North America and Europe that day. It comes four months after the first round of “No Kings” rallies, amid a government shutdown, an ongoing mass deportation operation and an effort to deploy the National Guard to major U.S. cities.

“The goal is community — in being together to show the power we have in our numbers to show that we are not going to stand for what is happening to our government, to this regime, in Washington and what they are doing to our country,” said Vicki Miller, group leader with Indivisible Philadelphia, which is organizing the event.

What should ‘No Kings’ participants expect?

The protest will take place between noon and 3 p.m. Saturday.

It will start at City Hall and end at Independence Mall, following a march down Market Street.

Organizers say City Hall will largely be used to mobilize people before the march, which is expected to take about an hour to complete.

Once protesters arrive at Independence Mall, a program will feature more than a dozen speakers, including elected officials, union leaders and grassroots organizers.

The program is expected to start around 1 p.m.

Indivisible Philadelphia has a permit for the entire mall, which can hold approximately 20,000 people. For now, the stage for the speaker program will be located near Chestnut Street by the Liberty Bell Pavilion.

Miller said there will be large video screens along the mall so people can hear and see the speakers from a distance.

Overall, fewer people are expected at this protest than the one held in June, which saw around 100,000 people fill the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. That’s largely because Philadelphia is not hosting the flagship event during this round of protests, making this more of a local rally.

Will there be road closures?

Market Street, between 5th and 6th streets, will be closed for the duration of the protest.

The rest of Market Street will close temporarily as marchers make their way from City Hall to Independence Mall.

“It’s sort of an iterative thing,” said Miller. “They won’t close 10th and Market, let’s say, until we start to get there.”

Once the crowd has cleared an intersection, it will reopen to car traffic.

Additionally, side streets feeding into Market Street will be barricaded so no car traffic can get through as marchers move toward Independence Mall.

For now, it’s unclear how the protest will impact SEPTA. A spokesperson said those details are not available yet.