The protests, dubbed No Kings, took place at about 2,100 sites nationwide, from big cities to small towns, with a coalition of more than 100 groups.
Polanski told the crowd: Go back to your communities, to the community centres, to your trade unions, to your friends, to your neighbours. We must organise in our communities. Local elections are coming in just a few weeks' time, he added. We will defeat hate. It's time to make hope normal again.
Deputy assistant commissioner James Harman stated, 'While the high court has found the proscription of Palestine Action to be unlawful, it has confirmed the impact of that judgment will not take effect until the government's appeal has been considered which could take many months.'
Both Human Rights Watch and the cross-party law reform organisation Justice say recent legislative changes have created a chilling effect on lawful protest and should be repealed. Their reports, simultaneously published on Thursday, also say that proposals for more curbs should be halted. They highlight the arrest of Republic anti-monarchy protesters during King Charles's coronation, charges and arrests of pro-Palestinian demonstrators and long sentences for climate protesters as examples of the crackdown on the right to peaceful dissent.
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