Spilling over from the Texas Capitol’s south lawn and extending out to fill 11th Street, over 10,000 protestors gathered Saturday as part of a national protest against President Donald Trump, his administration and ongoing immigration enforcement actions.
Public officials, including UT’s city council member Zohaib “Zo” Qadri and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, joined local organization Hands Off Central Texas, which coordinated its efforts with a string of ‘No Kings’ demonstrations held across major United States cities in every state. The protest occurred simultaneously with the parade commemorating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. military, which coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday.
Organizers hosted a live band, a chicken dance number and a drag show led by drag queen Brigitte Bandit. Protesters also held signs condemning Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations while recognizing the presence and contributions of local immigrant communities.
Incoming public affairs freshman Mia Gamino said exercising her right to protest was particularly important in the current political context.
“Now is a really good time to just be there as support, especially for undocumented immigrants,” Gamino said. “My dad is an immigrant; he came here 30 years ago, so I’m here for my family and I’m here for pretty much all undocumented immigrants in America.”
State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt said the Texas Department of Public Safety had identified “credible threats” to Texas lawmakers planning to attend the ‘No Kings’ protest. The threats came after the shooting of two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses Saturday morning. As a result, DPS had considered relocating the protest off the Capitol grounds and onto Congress Avenue, Eckhardt said. Although the Capitol grounds and buildings were evacuated, the grounds were reopened before the protest, and the building remained closed.
“We’re living in a time where there are lots of threats and the protest is going to go on,” Eckhardt said. “The inevitability of the protest is a wonderful thing.”
Protest organizers worked with the Austin Police Department to establish a “first line of defense” to address potential escalation. Ahead of the protest and other planned demonstrations across the state over the weekend, Gov. Greg Abbott announced the deployment of over 5,000 Texas National Guard troops on Thursday.
“Texas National Guard soldiers are prepared to maintain order and defend innocent Texans and property,” Abbott wrote in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. “They are trained to respond swiftly to violence and unrest. Texas will not tolerate lawlessness.”
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the department was prepared to use non-lethal weapons such as pepper balls, zip ties and batons to assist in “targeted” de-escalation efforts.
“At the end of the day, 99% of the people in this crowd are here to exercise their rights and to assemble, but there are agitators in the crowd,” Davis said. “There are people who are looking for those confrontations, and if it hurts people that are here or hurts officers, those people will be arrested.”
At approximately 7:30 p.m., around 200 protesters broke away from the main crowd and began moving towards Congress Avenue and 11th Street, where police formed a blockade attempting to prevent protesters from advancing further. The demonstrators advanced north on Lavaca Street, continuing west on 8th Street, in the direction of the J.J. Pickle Federal Building, where migrants facing detention were confirmed to be held in January.
Law enforcement directed protesters away from the federal building and told them to stay on sidewalks as they marched throughout downtown. After issuing a dispersal order to protesters still in the street, local and state law enforcement deployed pepper spray and tear gas against the crowd.
In an X statement, APD confirmed the protest concluded at 11 p.m. and said it will share more details about the protest in the following days.
