'No Kings Day' Chaos: Multiple Shot, Cops Injured, Man Drives Into Crowd

Four police officers were injured in Portland on Saturday and a man 'intentionally' drove his SUV into a crowd of protestors in Virginia as 'No Kings Day' protests descended into chaos across the country.

The widespread violence broke out following President Donald Trump's birthday military parade in Washington D.C. and anti-Trump marches across the country.

It was a scene of chaos in Portland as hundreds of protesters clad in black clashed with federal officers at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.

Federal officers decked out in tactical gear deployed smoke, tear gas, flash grenades and other projectiles as demonstrators threw fireworks and water bottles in response.

Some even used a stop sign to smash through one of the doors to the ICE facility.

Earlier in the day, several thousands had gathered downtown for a number of 'No Kings' protest across the city but it was only after 6pm that the protests grew violent.

Joseph R. Checklick Jr., 21, drove his SUV through a dispersing crowd in a parking lot in northern Virginia, which led to him 'striking at least one person with his vehicle,' police said in a statement.

The protest took place throughout Saturday afternoon in Culpeper, a small town roughly 70 miles from Washington, D.C.

Across the country, there have been some 2,000 'No Kings Day' protests, with attendees pushing back against what they describe as Trump's march toward authoritarianism on issues such as immigration enforcement, civil rights and cuts to the federal government through DOGE.

There were huge, boisterous crowds marching, dancing, drumming, and chanting shoulder-to-shoulder in New York, Denver, Chicago, Austin and Los Angeles, some behind 'no kings' banners.

In some places, organizers handed out little American flags while others flew their flags upside down, a sign of distress.

Mexican flags which have become a fixture of the Los Angeles protests against immigration raids, also made an appearance at some demonstrations Saturday.

Atlanta's 5,000-capacity event quickly reached its limit, with thousands more gathered outside barriers to hear speakers in front of the state Capitol.

A rally at the Texas Capitol in Austin went off as planned despite state police briefly shutting down the building and the surrounding grounds after authorities said they received a 'credible threat' to Democratic state lawmakers who were to attend.

Lawmakers showed up anyway and said they were in contact with safety officials to make sure the protest wasn't disrupted.

Ten minutes before the protest was set to begin, a man was arrested in connection to the threats made this afternoon, a spokesperson with Texas DPS told DailyMail.com

A state trooper with DPS arrested the man in La Grange, a city 65 miles southeast of Austin.

Local media later reported that when protestors reached the Austin Convention Center, police officers were seen with riot gear and armed with tear gas canisters. Police were seen deploying chemical agents on Trinity Street.

However, the protests have begun to disperse peacefully, with demonstrators beginning to make their trek home around 9:30pm local time. Authorities urged people to stay on the sidewalks.

Over in Los Angeles, police there deployed less lethal munitions as protesters hurled concrete, rocks and fireworks at officers followed a day of mostly-peaceful protests in the City of Angels.

Police on horseback pushed crowds back as law enforcement fired tear gas and flash-bang grenades hours ahead of the evening curfew.

A police spokeswoman said a 'small group of agitators' had begun throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks at officers, prompting the decision to order the crowd to disperse.

One disturbing piece of footage saw and elderly man pushed backwards by police into the crowd who luckily broke his fall.

In Philadelphia, thousands gathered in front of City Hall, waving signs and listening to a Native American drum circle before marching through the streets.

An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 people took part.

There were numerous speakers who delivered speeches outside Independence Hall, including the eldest son of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King III, an activist like his father, told protestors they were gathered to declare that 'We the people still believe in democracy.'

'We still believe in a nation without kings, without tyrants, without rulers who place themselves above the law,' he said to an applauding crowd.

'We are here to say this land belongs to the people, not to the monarchs, not to the autocrats, not to strong men, but to the people. You.'

The protest concluded with an address by one of the lead organizers for the nationwide movement.

Ezra Levin, a co-executive director of the progressive group Indivisible, thanked the people who showed up to make their voices heard.

'Today, we are doing the most quintessentially American thing you can think of. We are showing up peacefully, together, proudly finally to say

freedom means something. Justice demands action and that we are not done fighting for the country we know is possible,' Levin said.

Levin concluded by leading the crowd in one final chant: 'How many kings?!' he asked.

'No kings!' they responded before cheering.

In Los Angeles, a curfew went into effect for a small portion of downtown LA just as night fell while the protests continued.

The curfew started at 8pm and will last until through until 6am. The curfew area does not cover the whole city, but just one square mile in downtown.

Demonstrations in Los Angeles against Trump's immigration crackdown have served as a flashpoint for protests nationwide and prompted Trump to deploy military troops to the region, sparking further outrage.

Mass protests as part of the national 'No Kings' movement proceeded largely peacefully in LA, but there were some clashes with law enforcement downtown this evening as officers tried to clear remaining protesters in the hours leading up to the curfew.

In all, seven officers with the LAPD were injured during confrontations with demonstrators, though none of the injuries were severe enough to warrant hospitalization, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said.

Saturday night's curfew was the the fifth consecutive night where Mayor Bass has called for one.

In Utah, one person was critically injured during a shooting in Salt Lake City when gunfire erupted during the 'No Kings' march. A person of interest is in custody, police said.

The march of several thousand people has just passed the downtown federal building before people started running, and responding officers told people to immediately take shelter.

Video feeds showed several police standing in the street and yellow tape used to cordon off an area of at least a half a block.

'No Kings' organizers said protesters gathered in hundreds of cities with large crowds seen in several cities.

Organizers said they were protesting against Trump's dictatorial overreach, and in particular what they described as the strongman symbolism of the parade.

'I think people are mad as hell,' Lindsay Ross, a 28-year-old musician, said in New York, where tens of thousands of people rallied.

Some protesters targeted Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

'I think it's disgusting,' protester Sarah Hargrave, 42, said in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, describing Trump's parade as a 'display of authoritarianism.'

In Washington, hundreds protesting Trump carried signs with messages that included 'Where´s the due process?' and 'No to Trump´s fascist military parade' as they marched toward the White House.

A larger-than-life puppet of Trump was wheeled through the crowd, a caricature of the president wearing a crown and sitting on a golden toilet.

Other protesters waved pride flags and hoisted signs, some with pointed messages such as 'I prefer crushed ICE,'.

Other messages included 'The invasion was HERE Jan. 6th, NOT in L.A.' and 'Flip me off if you´re a FASCIST.'

At the end of a day of protests, President Trump hosted the largest US military parade in decades on his 79th birthday.

Trump hailed the United States as the 'hottest country in the world' after watching tanks, aircraft and troops file past him in Washington to honor the 250th anniversary of the US army.

Trump largely avoided his usual domestic political diatribes in an unusually brief speech, and instead focused on praising the US army, saying that they 'fight, fight, fight, and they win, win, win.'

The last such parade in the United States was at the end of the 1991 Gulf War.

When it came, Trump stood and saluted on a stage outside the White House as tanks rumbled past, aircraft roared overhead and nearly 7,000 troops marched past.

Troops and military hardware from different eras of US history passed by, with an announcer reeling off victories in battles with Japanese, German, Chinese and Vietnamese forces in past wars.

The army said the parade cost up to $45 million.

But while the crowd sang 'Happy Birthday' and there were occasional chants of 'USA! USA!', the atmosphere was less intense than one of the barnstorming rallies that swept Trump to power.

The White House said that 'over 250,000 patriots showed up' for the event, without providing evidence. Communications Director Steven Cheung described the 'No Kings' protests as a 'complete and utter failure.'

In his address to the parade, Trump sent a warning to Washington's adversaries of 'total and complete' defeat, with the United States increasingly at risk of getting tangled up in Israel's conflict with Iran.

'Time and again, America's enemies have learned that if you threaten the American people, our soldiers are coming for you,' Trump said.

Trump had openly dreamed since his first term as president of having a grand military parade, of the type more often seen in Moscow or Pyongyang than Washington.