PHILADELPHIA — Demonstrators crowded into streets, parks and plazas across the country Saturday to protest President Donald Trump, mixing anti- authoritarian messages with support for immigrants and calls to protect democracy.

Atlanta’s 5,000- capacity “No Kings” rally quickly reached its limit, with thousands more demonstrators gathered outside barriers to hear speakers in front of the state Capitol.

Huge crowds marched in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York.

In Minnesota, organizers canceled demonstrations as police worked to track down a suspect in the shootings of two Democratic legislators and their spouses.

Intermittent light rain fell as sign-carrying marchers gathered for the flagship rally in Philadelphia’s Love Park. They shouted “Whose streets? Our streets!” as they marched to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where they listened to speakers on the steps made famous in the movie “Rocky.”

“So what do you say, Philly?” U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., shouted to the crowd. “Are you ready to fight back? Do you want a gangster state or do you want free speech in America?”

Karen Van Trieste, 61, a nurse who drove up to Philadelphia from Maryland, said, “I just feel like we need to defend our democracy.”

In some places, organizers handed out small American flags while other demonstrators brought larger versions to wave amid signs that ranged from pro-democracy and immigrant-rights messages to a variety of anti-Trump sentiments.

In Los Angeles, thousands gathered in front of City Hall, hundreds gathered on the lawn in front of Mississippi’s state Capitol and marchers in downtown Little Rock walked across a bridge over the Arkansas River.

Protests were planned in nearly 2,000 locations across the country, from city blocks and small towns to courthouse steps and community parks, organizers said, but no events are scheduled in Washington, D.C., where the military parade was scheduled to take place.

The 50501 Movement orchestrating the protests says it picked the “No Kings” name to support democracy and speak out against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration.

The name 50501 stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement.

The demonstrations come on the heels of protests that flared up across the country over federal immigration enforcement raids that began last week and Trump ordering the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where protesters blocked a freeway and set cars on fire.

In North Carolina, crowds cheered anti-Trump speakers in Charlotte’s First Ward Park and chanted “We have no kings” before marching behind a “No Kings” banner through the city, chanting “No kings, no crowns, we will not bow down” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go.”

Marchers stretched for blocks, led by a group of people holding a giant Mexican flag and bystanders cheering and clapping for protesters along the way.

Jocelyn Abarca, 21, a college student, said the protest was a chance to “speak for what’s right” after mass deportations and the deployment of the National Guard to deal with protesters in Los Angeles last week.

“If we don’t stop it now, it’s just going to keep getting worse,” she said of the Trump administration’s actions.

In Florida, about 1,000 people gathered on the grounds of the state’s old Capitol in Tallahassee, where protesters chanted “This is what community looks like,” and carried signs with messages like “one nation under distress” and “dissent is patriotic.”

Organizers of the rally told the crowd to avoid any conflicts with counterprotesters and to take care not to jaywalk or disrupt traffic.

Governors and city officials vowed to protect the right to protest and to show no tolerance for violence.

Some urged calm, while Republican governors in Missouri, Nebraska, Texas and Virginia were mobilizing National Guard troops to help law enforcement manage demonstrations.

There will be “zero tolerance” for violence, destruction or disrupting traffic, and “if you violate the law, you’re going to be arrested,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin told reporters Friday.

In Missouri, Gov. Mike Kehoe issued a similar message, vowing to take a proactive approach and not to “wait for chaos to ensue.”

Some law enforcement agencies announced they were ramping up efforts for the weekend.

On social media, Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, called for peaceful protests over the weekend, to ensure Trump doesn’t send military to the state. “Donald Trump wants to be able to say that we cannot handle our own public safety,” Ferguson said.