No Kings protest: Philly businesses prepare for thousands expected to attend
The Brief
Businesses in Center City are cautiously optimistic and planning for large crowds from the "No Kings Rally" on Saturday.
A couple retailers in Rittenhouse Square are taking heightened precautions and boarded up their windows.
The organizer of the rally said the event will be energized, joyous and peaceful.
CENTER CITY - Thousands are expected to attend the No Kings rally in Philadelphia. Some local shops are optimistic that the large influx of people could help boost their businesses, while other retailers in Rittenhouse Square boarded up their windows on Friday in advance of Saturday's planned protest.
What we know
Hundreds of rallies called the "No Kings Protest" are scheduled across the country this Saturday and the flagship event is happening in Philadelphia.
Organizers said the event will voice opposition against Trump administration policies. The rallies coincide with the President's birthday and the Army's 250th anniversary celebration.
Vicki Miller is the group leader of Indivisible Philadelphia, a grassroots and progressive organization. Miller is the lead organizer of the No Kings Rally in Philadelphia and said she expects up to 60,000 in attendance.
Timeline
The rally will meet around 12 p.m. at Love Park then march down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art where public speakers will address the crowds.
"We have marshals who are going to keep people safe. It should be very peaceful, nonviolent, it should go very well," said Miller. "We've never had any problem here before in any of our rallies and we expect the same tomorrow."
Miller said organizers have had big meetings with every city agency involved including the Office of Emergency Management, the fire department, SEPTA and police.
What's next
Melissa Zielinski is the general manager of Walnut Garden, an outdoor beer garden on Chestnut Street. She said there is concern over Saturday's event going sideways, but said they will play it minute-by-minute.
"We are going to be open. We open at 12 tomorrow and will just play it by ear. The police have been fantastic with making sure we feel safe, but at any time if we feel as though our staff is not safe then we'll definitely close up shop," said Zielinski.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Washington Post
34 minutes ago
- Washington Post
UK government says it will ban pro-Palestinian group after activists broke into military base
LONDON — Britain's government said Monday it will ban the pro-Palestinian activist group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws after the group's members broke into a military base and vandalized two planes last week. The measure means it will be a criminal offense to belong to or support the group, with a maximum of 14 years in prison. It came as protesters in support of Palestine Action clashed with police during a demonstration in central London . Officials said two of the group's members entered the Royal Air Force base in Brize Norton on Wednesday and damaged two planes with red paint. The group released video footage appearing to show one of the activists spraying the paint into a jet's turbine engines. The group alleged that Britain was continuing to 'send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel U.S./Israeli fighter jets,' and condemned the country as 'an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East.' The base incident was being investigated by counter-terror police. Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley described Palestine Action as an 'organized extremist criminal group,' while Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the protest at the airbase was the latest in the group's 'long history of unacceptable criminal damage.' She said the group's recent actions, including an attack against a defense factory in Glasgow in 2022, have resulted in damage that runs into millions of pounds. In March, Palestine Action targeted one of U.S. President Donald Trump's golf resorts in Scotland, painting 'Gaza is Not For Sale' in giant letters on the lawn in response to his proposal to empty the Gaza Strip of its Palestinian population. The government said a draft order will be laid in Parliament next week. Lawmakers still need to approve it. Britain's government has proscribed about 80 organizations, including Hamas and al-Qaida, and far-right groups such as National Action.


Fox News
36 minutes ago
- Fox News
US service members, diplomats most at risk for physical attack from Iran, expert warns
All times eastern FOX News Radio Live Channel Coverage WATCH LIVE: Trump to huddle with top brass after hammering Iran's nuclear sites


Fox News
36 minutes ago
- Fox News
'Mofo...in the White House': Jasmine Crockett attacks Trump, praises Massie in anti-Iran strike rant
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, launched another tirade against President Donald Trump over the weekend, while offering rare praise for one of her House GOP colleagues who is currently at odds with the commander in chief. The Democratic firebrand took to Instagram Live late Saturday to criticize Trump's strikes on Iran, while giving a "shout out" to Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., over his bipartisan resolution to rein in the president's ability to conduct such operations. "So long story short, for those of you that are unaware, the mofo that resides in the White House has unilaterally, in my estimation, declared war," Crockett said in the video. "Mofo" is often used as a shorthand term for the curse phrase "motherf---er." Crockett, an outspoken progressive, is part of the chorus of voices on the left accusing Trump of wrongly bypassing Congress in his military operation against Tehran's nuclear sites. Trump officials have maintained that they are in compliance with the War Powers Act. "We are living in this time in which there is someone who is occupying the White House who does not care about any rules, any norms, any laws, nor the Constitution. And we cannot be a civilized country if there is no law and order," Crockett said. She then launched an attack on Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, accusing him of doing more harm with his strikes on Iran. "I know that they may claim, 'We law and order, blah blah blah. So go get the undocumented people and let's try to ship them out.' Let me tell you something – they are not the people that are putting us in harm's way," Crockett said. "It is him and his administration that is putting us in harm's way." Crockett called on her supporters to confront Trump supporters, adding, "I literally need you to wake them the f--- up, because everything since he has stepped into office has done nothing other than put us in harm's way." Later in the roughly 20-minute video, Crockett asked her supporters living in Republican-held districts to reach out to their representatives in Congress. "We need action now, and that is going to take a few Republicans, like, getting on the right page," she said. "And right now there's only one Republican that I know I can count on for sure doing the right thing. And that's going to be Thomas Massie. The rest of them, it's a little bit questionable." Foreign entanglements, particularly when the U.S. military is involved, are an issue that's made for strange political bedfellows in the past. When the House passed emergency foreign aid last year in separate packages by region, each passed with bipartisan support – while also seeing "no" votes from dovish progressives and conservatives wary of U.S. involvement overseas. Trump's weekend strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities are no different. While the move gained wide support from Republican leaders and some pro-Israel Democrats, a small group of conservatives has expressed varying levels of concern. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X that she could "support President Trump and his great administration on many of the great things they are doing while disagreeing on bombing Iran and getting involved in a hot war that Israel started." Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, commended the "strength and precision" of the strikes to Fox News Digital on Sunday but argued Congress needed to regain its "war powers." "While President Trump has legal precedent on his side, the legal reality underscores how far we've drifted from the constitutional order," Davidson said. Massie, who has been one of the most consistent lawmakers in Congress regarding his skepticism of foreign entanglements, is leading a resolution alongside Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to limit Trump's war powers on Iran. He told Fox News Digital on Sunday that he hoped to force a vote on the bipartisan measure and signaled cautious optimism that it could succeed. "I think it could [pass the House], because we have such a tight majority. And the Democrats aren't very consistent about war, but when there's a Republican in the White House, they find their religion, their anti-war religion again," Massie said. Fox News Digital reached out to Massie's office and the White House for comments on Crockett's video.