Thousands of people filled Railroad Park in Birmingham on Saturday. The crowd included one person in an inflatable T-rex costume holding a sign that read, “Make fascism extinct again.” Another wore revolutionary war clothing and carried a sign with the Thomas Paine quote, “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.”

They were part of the national No Kings rally, a network of 2,500 events held throughout the country to protest Trump administration policies. Event organizer Angelica McCain said there were about 5,000 people at the local rally. In New York, officials estimated more than 100,000 people protested across the city.

“We are part of a national action confronting authoritarianism in real time and in spite of this, we are still moving toward a democracy we are collectively reimagining,” JaTaune Bosby Gilchrist, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama, said at the dais in front of the crowd Saturday. “We stand as proof of the power of the people who built this moment, who understand what it takes to build a movement right here in Birmingham, Alabama.”

Those who spoke at the Birmingham rally Saturday criticized Trump administration policies involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the deployment of the National Guard in American cities against the wishes of local and state leaders. They also criticized the rescinding of congressionally approved funding for cancer research and passage of the Big Beautiful Bill, which did away with health insurance subsidies for millions of Americans.

The list of speakers included former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones. He said U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson described the No Kings events as “hate America rallies.”

“Do you hate America!?” Jones asked the crowd, which responded with a deafening, “NO!”

“Love America?” he asked

“YES!” was the answer.

“Let’s tell Mike Johnson consistently and every day, we are for democracy. We are for America, and don’t ever, ever tell us otherwise,” Jones said.

Birmingham’s rally was co-hosted by Indivisible Birmingham and Alabama 5051. McCain, who is founder and co-chair of Alabama 5051, emphasized that Indivisible booked the speakers, saying 5051 does not support politicians.

“I was pretty unhappy with Doug Jones being on the stage. Otherwise, I thought it was really great. I’m glad a lot of people showed up. That’s important,” McCain said.

Birmingham’s rally ended with a march to Second Avenue North and back to Railroad Park.

Saturday’s rallies across the nation were the second iteration of the No Kings marches. The first were held June 14, when federal officials held the U.S. Army 250th Anniversary Parade. Many criticized the event, pointing to America’s general aversion to national military parades as well as the parade’s being on Donald Trump’s birthday.