Huge crowds took part in No Kings protests against President Donald Trump's policies in cities across the US on Saturday, including New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles.
Thousands packed New York City's iconic Times Square and streets all around, with people holding signs with slogans like Democracy not Monarchy and The Constitution is not optional.
Ahead of the demonstrations, Trump allies accused the protesters of being linked with the far-left Antifa movement, and condemned what they called the hate America rally.
Several US states had mobilized the National Guard. But organizers said the events, which drew nearly seven million people, were peaceful.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has expanded the scope of presidential power, using executive orders to dismantle parts of the federal government and deploying National Guard troops to US cities despite objections by state governors.
He has also called on the administration's top law enforcement officials to prosecute his perceived enemies.
The president says his actions are necessary to rebuild a country in crisis and has dismissed accusations that he is behaving like a dictator or fascist as hysterical.
But critics warn some of the moves by his administration are unconstitutional and a threat to American democracy.
In New York, sections of the crowd regularly erupted into chants of This is what democracy looks like as a near-constant drumbeat boomed in the background.
The New York Police Department said more than 100,000 people had gathered across all five of the city's boroughs, and that no protest-related arrests were made.
In Washington, DC, where the National Guard has been deployed since August at Trump's request, no troops were visible at the protest, either.
Democratic politicians joined the protests around the country, emphasizing that America has no dictators and vowing to protect democratic principles.
The protests weren't confined to the US. Demonstrations occurred in cities across Europe, including Berlin, Madrid, and Rome, with gatherings outside the US embassy in London showing solidarity with the American protesters.
