At least 25 No Kings events are planned for central Ohio on Saturday, which is part of thousands of planned protests across the country.
This includes a 4 p.m. rally at the Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus. Organizers expect at least 15,000 people to attend the Statehouse rally.
Mia Lewis is associate director of Common Cause Ohio, one of the protest organizers. Lewis said there are many reasons driving people to rally and protest President Donald Trump and his policies this weekend.
"There's an affordability crisis. There's ICE in our streets. There's violence rising across the world. This is not a president who is taking care of the people in America. He's taking care of himself," Lewis said.
Lewis said the war in Iran is among many things motivating people to come out to rally and protest. She cited the three Ohio Air National Guard members who died on March 12 in a plane crash in western Iraq.
"Honestly, it's just every day there's something else. And these things, you know, Donald Trump is tearing down the guardrails and the norms of our democracy," Lewis said.
Common Cause Ohio, Columbus 50501, Indivisible Central Ohio and ACLU Ohio are organizing the central Ohio rallies.
Columbus Division of Police spokesperson Sgt. James Fuqua said the division will have security measures in place during the Columbus rallies. He said the Columbus police's dialogue team will be present. The team wears blue vests and works with groups to help keep protests peaceful.
Events are planned for Clintonville, German Village, Worthington, Westerville and other communities, including heavily Republican areas such as Circleville and Zanesville.
Millions of people are expected to join No Kings protests around the country.
