海角大神

For a nation on edge, a weekend of patriotic celebration and widespread free-speech participation brought new signs of democracy鈥檚 strength 鈥� as well as its vulnerability.

The organizers of Saturday鈥檚 coast-to-coast 鈥淣o Kings鈥� demonstrations had sought to counter President Donald Trump鈥檚 military parade in Washington, and serve up a split screen moment. On one side would be a spectacle of military might, on the other a display of peaceful mass protest against government overreach.

But what began as a split screen became more of a kaleidoscope, a window into a fractured nation that鈥檚 been beset by political unrest, feuding, and even violence.

Ahead of Saturday鈥檚 parade and demonstrations, tensions had already spiked over Mr. Trump鈥檚 deployment of National Guard聽troops in Los Angeles against the wishes of the governor, amid protests over federal immigration raids. On Thursday, a federal judge in California ruled that the deployment was unconstitutional, a decision immediately stayed by an appeals court. That same day, Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed when he interrupted a press event in Los Angeles featuring Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. The incident sparked outrage and finger pointing across the aisle in California and Washington.

Then on Saturday, as tanks and troops prepared to roll through the nation鈥檚 capital, news broke of the early morning slaying of a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband in Minnesota and the attempted killing of another Democratic lawmaker and his wife, eight miles away. On Sunday night, the alleged gunman was caught after a manhunt. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the shootings political assassinations.

For historians, this fraught moment has the hallmarks of past cycles of U.S. political conflict and contestations over the legitimacy of street protest.

鈥淣one of this is particularly new,鈥� says Ellen Fitzpatrick, a history professor at the University of New Hampshire. What is new, though, is the pattern set by a president 鈥渨ho is willing to, at best, test the boundaries of the executive powers of the president, and who seems perfectly willing to redefine those powers in ways that are unrecognizable to even judges whom he himself has appointed to the federal court.鈥�

A key test of the president鈥檚 use of the military

Mr. Trump鈥檚 administration has lost several high-profile lawsuits over his executive orders and other actions, while winning others. But the lawsuit over sending thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles, where protests have continued against detentions of migrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, could be a pivotal one. The legal order Mr. Trump signed June 7 鈥� which also paved the way for deploying a聽battalion of active-duty聽Marines聽鈥� isn鈥檛 limited to Los Angeles; critics say it provides cover for the militarization of a mass deportation program.

What many Republicans see on the streets of Los Angeles and other Democratic-run cities is an effort to block the president鈥檚 legitimate enforcement of federal law. They accuse Democrats of undermining lawful operations against immigrants who have no legal right to be in this country. Mr. Walz, a Democrat who ran for vice president last year, drew criticism in recent days for calling ICE officers Mr. Trump鈥檚 鈥渕odern-day Gestapo.鈥�

On the streets of Washington, observers gathered on Saturday to watch a parade celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Army, a date that coincided with Mr. Trump鈥檚 79th birthday. The last time military vehicles and brass bands rolled through the capital was in 1991 to celebrate victory in the Gulf War; peacetime parades are much rarer.

Many who turned out seemed unaware or uninterested in the political overtones of the parade, which critics assailed as a presidential vanity project that belonged in Beijing or Moscow. It鈥檚 鈥渁 once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing,鈥� enthuses Andrew Mourog, a Maryland resident who is considering enlisting. 鈥淚鈥檓 just here to see some history, see some pretty cool vehicles.鈥�

Jerry Henson鈥檚 son, an infantryman, was in the parade so Mr. Henson wasn鈥檛 going to miss it. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all here to support him,鈥� says the retired utility lineman and two-time Trump voter, sitting with his grandson and another relative. He says he supported the right to protest but was concerned about the violence in Los Angeles.

There were plenty of MAGA hats in the crowd, as well as families clad in red, white, and blue clothing. Flags adorned the viewing stand as more of them descended with a parachute team from overhead.

鈥淚 feel like it can happen to anyone鈥�

Flags were also on display, some turned upside down, at No Kings marches across America. Organizers estimated more than 5 million people turned out in 2,100 cities and towns. While independent estimates were not available, news reports documented large crowds in major cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. The vast majority were peaceful, though police in Los Angeles used tear gas to disperse protesters who stayed after the event ended.

Earlier in the week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom warned of a 鈥減erilous moment鈥� for democracy after Mr. Trump鈥檚 unilateral order of troops to Los Angeles. 鈥淭his is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first 鈥� but it clearly will not end here,鈥� he said. He added, 鈥淒emocracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived.鈥�

Some participants in Saturday鈥檚 demonstrations voiced similar trepidation.

Sarah Wideman, who joined the Women鈥檚 March in Washington in 2017 to oppose Mr. Trump鈥檚 first term, took part in an event held in Denver. She says this moment feels different. 鈥淚t feels scarier to me,鈥� she says, noting the lack of due process for immigrants under this administration. 鈥淚f that can happen to immigrants, I feel like it can happen to anyone in America.鈥�

Donald Young came to Denver dressed as a Founding Father and carrying a copy of the Declaration of Independence. A Democrat, he says 鈥渨e should be screaming from the rooftops鈥� about Mr. Trump鈥檚 undermining of the rule of law. 鈥淭he Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves,鈥� reads a sign around his neck. 鈥淐ongress has capitulated. SCOTUS is eviscerated,鈥� he says, referring to the Supreme Court of the United States.

In Thousand Oaks, California, hundreds of people gathered on an overpass crossing the 101 highway north of Los Angeles. Greg Yulish, a bread manufacturer, says some of his employees are afraid to turn up for work because of ICE raids. Detaining taxpaying workers who have no criminal record is unjust, he adds. He says he鈥檚 never protested before 鈥渂ut this really struck a chord.鈥�

He cites Mr. Newsom鈥檚 warning about democracy and says people need to stand up to Mr. Trump or else 鈥渨e鈥檙e just going to be an also-ran country with a puppet dictator.鈥�

Candace Kaplan, a retired American Airlines employee, says Mr. Trump is a threat to democracy because he ignores the law and 鈥渘obody鈥檚 been able to stop him. And we absolutely have to.鈥� But she thinks people are becoming aware of these violations. 鈥淭he only good thing that Donald Trump has done for me is he woke me up. He doesn鈥檛 like 鈥榳oke,鈥� but he鈥檚 waking people up, whether he likes it or not, with his actions.鈥�

Sounding the alarm or crying wolf?

Yet as Democrats issue ever more urgent warnings about Mr. Trump鈥檚 administration, their message about democracy-at-stake faces a challenge: Voters have heard it before. The first Trump administration featured a series of controversies and thunderous warnings of democratic erosion. He was twice impeached, the second time for inciting the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed attempt to reverse his 2020 election defeat. On his return to the White House, he pardoned some 1,600 people convicted for taking part in that Jan. 6, 2021 attack.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris repeatedly urged voters to reject Mr. Trump and his Republican Party because they were a threat to democracy. That message did little to prop up Ms. Harris, who ran on the Democratic ticket during an election dominated by immigration, inflation, and other issues on which Mr. Trump had an edge.

As a candidate, Mr. Trump explicitly said that he would use the National Guard as part of a mass deportation program and that he would also consider using active-duty military. 鈥淚f I thought things were getting out of control, I would have no problem using the military, per se. We have to have safety in our country,鈥� he told Time Magazine in April, 2024.

Mr. Trump鈥檚 supporters say that this describes what the administration has been doing in Los Angeles to protect public safety. Opponents see a more worrying step toward a politicized military that, over time, could become normalized and undermine civilian self-governance.

The 9th Circuit appeals court, which stayed the June 12 ruling against the Trump administration over the troops in LA, will hold a hearing Tuesday. Two judges of the three-member panel that paused the ruling are Trump appointees; the other was appointed by President Biden.

Should the administration prevail, it would have legal authority to surge military units to other cities. Analysts say that putting troops on the streets who aren鈥檛 trained in law enforcement can be risky, given that ICE raids are likely to face obstruction by residents and protesters.

The war of words over military deployments in support of ICE has already made things 鈥渕uch tenser鈥� between Democrats and Republicans, says Rachel VanLandingham, a former judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force. That a U.S. senator was bundled out of an administration event in front of cameras is another potentially worrying sign. 鈥淓veryone is on a hair trigger,鈥� she says.

Some of the latest messages from President Trump on immigration are mixed. On Thursday he signaled he would back off investigations affecting certain industries heavily reliant on immigrant labor, including agriculture and hotels.

Yet the White House鈥檚 demand that ICE meet a target of 3,000 arrests a day so that Mr. Trump delivers on his administration鈥檚 reported goal of 1 million deportations a year appears to be driving the intensity of ICE activities. Administration officials have said that noncooperation from law enforcement in 鈥渟anctuary鈥� cities in handing over migrants held in jails has forced ICE to track down migrants at their homes, workplaces, and, in some cases, immigration-related court hearings.

The White House memo issued June 7 authorized the deployment of troops, including active-duty soldiers, in other states and cities for 60 days or at the discretion of the secretary of defense. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a June 10 congressional hearing聽that more troops could be sent to cities 鈥渋f there are riots 鈥� where law enforcement officers are threatened.鈥�

Active-duty forces aren鈥檛 allowed to make arrests but can briefly hold violent individuals before turning them over to law enforcement, Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, the commander of the LA federal troops, told The Associated Press. He said the Guard troops and Marines are being trained on civil unrest and crowd control. 鈥淲e are not law enforcement. This is not how we train,鈥� Major General Sherman said, referring to their instructions.

鈥淚鈥檓 trying to defend our country鈥�

In Pflugerville, Texas, a suburb of Austin, hundreds of protesters turned out Saturday. Many cheered as cars drove by honking their horns in support.

Wesley Webb, a Navy veteran, wasn鈥檛 sure about going, though he鈥檚 critical of Mr. Trump. What got him off his seat was the president鈥檚 comment that anyone who protested against the military parade in Washington 鈥渨ill be met with very heavy force.鈥�

鈥淭hat is a direct First Amendment violation. That got my blood boiling,鈥� says Mr. Webb.

Across the intersection, standing on the median between four lanes of traffic,聽Abhiram Garpati was standing alone in a MAGA hat carrying Trump-Vance signs. In a calm voice like Mr. Webb鈥檚, he offers an alternative view. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to defend our country,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hat they鈥檙e trying to do is destroy our nation.鈥�

Mr. Garpati received support from some cars driving past 鈥� a few drivers asked for Trump signs 鈥� but most honked at him. One driver called him a clown. Police kept a close eye on protesters who approached him.

A few hours later, Mr. Garpati,聽who has run repeated unsuccessful campaigns for Congress, stood outside the Texas Capitol in Austin. Alone again, with his red Trump hat and Trump campaign signs, nobody seemed to bother him.

鈥淲e are a democracy, and everybody at least has to listen and respect the other side,鈥� he says.

This story was reported by Simon Montlake in Boston, Caitlin Babcock in Washington, Henry Gass in Austin, Texas, Sarah Matusek in Denver, and Ali Martin in Thousand Oaks, California.