*sigh*

President Trump on Tuesday said Iran was “very close” to having a nuclear weapon, despite March testimony from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that Tehran was not building one.

[…]

Driving the news: When pressed on Gabbard’s assessment by reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump replied, “I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having” a nuclear weapon.

[…]

Gabbard, during her opening remarks at a House Intelligence Committee hearing in late March, said that “[t]he IC continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme leader Khomeini has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.”

https://www.axios.com/2025/06/17/trump-gabbard-iran-nuclear-weapon-testimony

In good news, he has been released now after large push-back but absolutely BS to have arrested him in the first place

If they get him on state charges, only the Minnesota Board of Pardons can do that. Which consists of the Governor Tim Walz (D), Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court (appointee of Walz), and Minnesota Attorney General (D)

Looking at the Crowd Counting Consortium data it’s a little higher than 2017, but much less than 2025. At 140 days into office Biden’s total was at 8150 (with 1020 of them taking place before he took office)

I believe days into the term which started on Jan 20th. Otherwise we’d be at 160s instead of 140s

This isn’t the first large nationwide protest of his second term and it won’t be the last. For instance, the Hands Off ones in April were number 6 on that list. They’re getting larger and there is already planning for the next nationwide ones. Or more broadly, here’s the cumulative number of protests including smaller ones too

Alt National Park Service’s estimate:

We’re honored to report that over 11 million showed up for today’s No Kings protest, and totals are still coming in. Just… wow. WOW 😮! There’s nothing more to say.

https://bsky.app/profile/altnps.bsky.social/post/3lrmce3muts2c

EDIT: also organizers within 50501 estimate at >11 million (50501 is one of the groups involved in the No Kings protests) https://bsky.app/profile/50501movement.bsky.social/post/3lrmozcmqx223

I think you are equating those with disruptive. Peaceful doesn’t necessarily mean non-disruptive. Peaceful and disruptive protests can certainly still make people in power sweat

Strikes are peaceful and disruptive

Shutting down freeways can be peaceful and disruptive

Boycotts are peaceful and can be disruptive

Sit-ins are peaceful and can be disruptive

etc.

Not that 3.5% is necessarily an iron-clad guarantee

There were over 2000 protest locations alone. Thousands would mean that an average of 1-5 people showed up at each location which you can find plenty, plenty, plenty of photos to prove otherwise. For instance, you can find places with hundreds turning out in deep red small towns

One group’s estimate is least 11 million, which is at the 3.5% figure and they are still counting! Been rising hourly by millions as they continue to count the thousands of protest locations

The 3.5% is not necessarily the full iron clad guarantee it’s touted as, but the high turnout is encouraging. Keep the pressure up!

All 50 states along with Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam have protests. Intentionally not one in DC this time with the parade going on there (unlike previous nationwide protests) but there are nearby ones just outside of it in. There are also planned protests outside the US as well

Many multiple per each state as well. Even Wyoming, which is the state with the smallest population and one of the most conservative in the nation, has protest planned in 13 cities

Much (most?) of those protests in other countries are outside of US embassies, so sends a message to the US still

It also puts notice to the country you’re within to not treat the US as business as usual

Ah oops, yes there is one in Vancouver didn’t catch that

The other ones you probably noticed were not that and were part of Alaska, just with some really big bubbles that make it look further inland

Don’t know the organizers or anything, but I’d imagine the heavy foreign aid gutting is probably part of it

I understand the reason, but that is the exact opposite of what we need right now. These protests on Saturday are peaceful and we need everyone to stand up. Trump wants our silence and complicity. Don’t give it to him

The only way out of this is through. Backing down or out will let things get worse

More than just Europe actually, but you really stopped being able to tell just how many were in the US if I zoomed out further

Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Malawi, Australia, also all have at least one No Kings protests planned too

EDIT: and Canada

It’s not as much about each specific thing as much as is about the overarching story. That Trump was at a UFC event and stayed while calling the national guard, that he didn’t call them in on Jan 6th, that the LAPD called the protests mostly peaceful, etc.

People need motivation to act on their convictions. Visible push back from others is hugely important to seeing it as more unjustified and that they can refuse unlawful orders

It’s also a spectrum. Vaguely feeling that something is probably wrong vs seeing stories about how it’s wrong are different

Public opinion matters a lot in this movement - not because Noem will care - but because it influences how the members themselves of the national guard respond. If the nation guard members think it is unjustified, they are more likely to not follow any unlawful orders

Yes the charges are stupid, but they are primarily to make it so that Trump’s fold doesn’t look like a fold. This is a win that he is out from El Salvador and puts further pressure to bring back all the others in a similar situation

They’re continually paying El Salvador for this on an ongoing basis per Chris Van Hollen. To a place they could easily withhold funding if they wanted to until he was sent back