"No Kings" protest tests Denver's new police response
The "No Kings" protest set for Saturday is poised to be the largest local demonstration against President Trump. The question is: Are Mayor Mike Johnston and the Denver Police Department prepared?
Why it matters: Any civil unrest will reveal what Denver has — or hasn't — learned from the mistakes some officers made during the George Floyd protests five years ago.
Driving the news: Johnston and police chief Ron Thomas are projecting confidence ahead of the rally.
Johnston remains "in close contact" with Thomas and "trusts Denver law enforcement to protect both public safety and free speech," his spokesperson, Jordan Fuja, told us.
The mayor's office is not ruling out the possibility of a curfew Saturday to disperse crowds.
What they're saying: Johnston told CNN on Wednesday, "We're very confident we can handle [protests] here locally. ... And we have a police department fully prepared to do it."
"We're certainly hopeful that things don't turn … ugly like they did [Tuesday] night, but [we are] prepared to respond appropriately," Thomas told 9News in an interview.
Flashback: In 2020, Denver police came under intense scrutiny for using excessive force on protesters, journalists and bystanders during demonstrations related to the murder of George Floyd.
Denver has paid out more than $18 million in settlements related to police officers' mishandling of the protests, and courts ruled DPD used excessive force and violated the civil rights of protesters.
Thomas acknowledged last year that his department made "mistakes."
The latest: A demonstration Tuesday against ICE ended in a violent clash between demonstrators and Denver police, who wore tactical gear and used smoke and pepper balls to disperse crowds. At least 17 people were arrested for vandalism, obstruction and assaulting officers.
Denver's police chief said officers did not fire at individuals, aiming instead at the ground and other hard surfaces to spread the irritant.
Zoom in: The agency's crowd control policies now include prohibitions for firing less-lethal equipment directly at individuals, not firing rubber bullets randomly into crowds and announcing before using chemical irritants.
A police spokesperson declined to share specific planning or staffing strategies, citing safety concerns.
The agency respects people's right to protest in a "safe and lawful manner," but "assaultive, destructive, and/or highly dangerous behaviors" will prompt police intervention, per a statement.
If you go: Denver's rally is part of a "nationwide day of defiance" in response to Trump's multimillion-dollar military parade Saturday in Washington, D.C.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
22 minutes ago
- New York Post
Read President Trump's speech after US strikes on Iran
Thank you very much. A short time ago, the US military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's No. 1 state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier. Advertisement 4 President Trump speaking in the White House after announcing his that the US has bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran on June 21, 2025. REUTERS For 40 years, Iran has been saying 'death to America, death to Israel.' They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs. That was their specialty. We lost over a thousand people and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate. In particular, so many were killed by their general, Qassem Soleimani. Advertisement I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen. It will not continue. I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team. Like perhaps no team has ever worked before, and we've gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel. I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they've done. And most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades. Hopefully, we'll no longer need their services in this capacity. I hope that's so. I so want to congratulate the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Dan 'Razin ' Caine, spectacular general and all of the brilliant military minds involved in this attack. 4 The United States bombed three suspected nuclear sites in Iran. Tam Nguyen / / NYPost Design Advertisement 4 Trump declared that Iran's facilities have been 'completely and totally obliterated' after the US strike. CNN With all of that being said, this cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes. 4 The New York Post's front page for Sunday, June 22, 2025. Advertisement There is no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight. Not even close. There has never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago. Tomorrow, General Caine [and] Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will have a press conference at 8 a.m. at the Pentagon. And I want to just thank everybody. And in particular God, I want to just say, we love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them. God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel, and God bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
In his own words: Trump's Iran strike tests his rhetoric on ending wars
Here's a look at some of Trump's rhetoric before his announcement Saturday about the strikes: 2024 campaign Trump often drew lines of contrasts with his Republican primary opponents. In January 2024, at a New Hampshire rally, he referred to former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was U.N. ambassador during Trump's first term, as a 'warmonger' whose mentality on foreign policy is, 'Let's kill people all over the place and let's make a lot of money for those people that make the messes.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up During a Jan. 6, 2024, rally before the Iowa caucuses, Trump told supporters that returning him to the White House would allow the country to 'turn the page forever on those foolish, stupid days of never-ending wars. They never ended.' Advertisement Rolling out his foreign policy priorities during that campaign — something Trump's orbit called " Agenda 47 " — he posted a video online in which he talked of how he was 'the only president in generations who didn't start a war.' Advertisement In that video, Trump called himself 'the only president who rejected the catastrophic advice of many of Washington's Generals, bureaucrats, and the so-called diplomats who only know how to get us into conflict, but they don't know how to get us out.' First term In his first term, Trump often referenced his anti-interventionist pledge. During his 2019 State of the Union address, he said, 'As a candidate for president, I loudly pledged a new approach. Great nations do not fight endless wars.' There were frequent clashes with some of his advisers over whether or not the United States should take a more involved stance abroad. That included his hawkish national security adviser John Bolton, with whom Trump had strong disagreements on Iran, Afghanistan and other global challenges. As Turkey launched a military operation into Syria targeting Kurdish forces, Trump in October 2019 posted a series of tweets citing his anti-interventionist stance. 'Turkey has been planning to attack the Kurds for a long time. They have been fighting forever,' Trump posted Oct. 10, 2019, on the platform then known as Twitter. 'We have no soldiers or Military anywhere near the attack area. I am trying to end the ENDLESS WARS.' A week later, he reiterated his position: 'I was elected on getting out of these ridiculous endless wars, where our great Military functions as a policing operation to the benefit of people who don't even like the USA.' 2016 campaign Candidate Trump was vociferous in his disdain for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, calling them both mistakes. 'We made a terrible mistake getting involved there in the first place,' Trump told CNN in October 2015, referencing Afghanistan. Advertisement 'We spent $2 trillion, thousands of lives, we don't even have the oil,' he said of the Iraq War during a March 2016 town hall hosted by the same network. During a primary debate, Trump engaged in a terse exchange with Jeb Bush particularly over U.S. military action in Iraq, launched by President George W. Bush, the Florida governor's brother. 'We should have never been in Iraq,' Trump said in February 2016. 'They lied. They said there were weapons of mass destruction. There were none and they knew that there were none.' What about earlier? Trump's press secretary said Wednesday that the president's beliefs that Iran should not achieve nuclear armament predated his time in politics. And his earlier writings indicate that, while candidate Trump has said he opposed the Iraq War, those sentiments were different before the conflict began. In his 2000 book 'The America We Deserve,' the businessman wrote that he felt a military strike on Iraq might be needed, given the unknown status of that nation's nuclear capabilities. 'I'm no warmonger,' Trump wrote. 'But the fact is, if we decide a strike against Iraq is necessary, it is madness not to carry the mission to its conclusion. When we don't, we have the worst of all worlds: Iraq remains a threat, and now has more incentive than ever to attack us.'
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
'Savage assault': Iran condemns US strikes on nuclear sites
Iran's atomic energy agency strongly condemned US strikes on its nuclear facilities, calling them a violation of international law and vowing to continue its nuclear program. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports from Tehran.
