WASHINGTON (AP) — A significant protest took place in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, as thousands marched against President Donald Trump’s federal control over policing in the capital city.

With a prominent red banner proclaiming “END THE D.C. OCCUPATION” in both English and Spanish, the demonstrators walked over two miles from Meridian Hill Park to Freedom Plaza near the White House. Their protest was against the ongoing presence of National Guard troops and federal agents in D.C.’s streets, which has persisted for four weeks.

The protest, named “We Are All D.C.” and organized by advocates for Home Rule and the American Civil Liberties Union, marked one of the most structured demonstrations opposing Trump’s federal intervention in the city. The president had touted the intervention as necessary last month to combat crime and homelessness, despite local authorities highlighting that violent crime levels are lower compared to Trump’s first term.

Trump’s focus on D.C. follows the earlier deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles in response to immigration enforcement and protest suppression. Washington provided a unique backdrop for Trump to emphasize his stringent crime policies due to its distinct relationship with the federal government.

The visible presence of armed military personnel has unsettled Washington and sparked ongoing protests, with particular intensity in local neighborhoods. Trump’s emergency declaration assuming control over D.C. police is scheduled to conclude on Wednesday.

Mark Fitzpatrick, a former U.S. diplomat and a decade-long resident of D.C., expressed concern to The Associated Press on Saturday about the “authoritarian manner” in which the administration is handling D.C.

“Federal agents, national guards patrolling our streets, that’s really an affront to the democracy of our city,” he said, adding that it’s worse for D.C. residents due to their lack of federal representation. “We don’t have our own senators or members of the House of Representatives, so we’re at the mercy of a dictator like this, a wanna-be dictator.”

Among the protesters Saturday were also former D.C. residents like Tammy Price, who called the Trump administration’s takeover “evil” and “not for the people.”

Jun Lee, a printmaker artist living in Washington, showed up with a “Free DC” sign that she made on a woodcut block. She said she came to the protest because she was “saddened and heartbroken” about the impact of the federal intervention on her city.

“This is my home, and I never, ever thought all the stuff that I watched in a history documentary that I’m actually living in person, and this is why this is important for everyone, this is our home, we need to fight, we need to resist,” she said.

Also on Saturday, Trump repeated threats to add Chicago to the list of other Democratic-led cities he wants to target for expanded federal enforcement. His administration is set to step up immigration enforcement in Chicago, similar to what took place in Los Angeles, and deploy National Guard troops. Like the District of Columbia, Chicago’s recent crime data does not reflect the war zones Trump has repeatedly compared it to.

Violent crime in Chicago dropped significantly in the first half of the year, representing the steepest decline in over a decade, according to city data. Shootings are down 37%, and homicides have dropped by 32%, while total violent crime dropped by over 22%.

In response to Trump’s threats, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, called the president a “wannabe dictator,” who is “threatening to go to war with an American city.”

“This is not a joke,” Pritzker wrote on X. “This is not normal.”

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Amiri reported from New York.