LONDON – Thousands of demonstrators filled Parliament Square in London Wednesday to protest U.S. President Donald Trump’s second state visit to the UK.
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The Stop Trump Coalition, a network of more than 50 unions and charities, organized the event.
A rally began at 5 p.m., following a march earlier in the afternoon.
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour Party leader who has since launched his own independent party, Your Party, addressed the crowd.
“They take away the right to protest because they don’t want us to protest,” he said.
Corbyn also criticised Elon Musk, accusing him of “fueling the far right.”
On Saturday Sept. 13, right-wing activist Tommy Robinson organized a “Unite the Kingdom” rally in central London. Elon Musk joined via video link and spoke to the crowd. That rally focused on anti-immigration sentiment and fears of uncontrolled migration.
Corbyn criticized Israel’s actions in Palestine, saying, “When you supply arms to a country that has already been found guilty of the war crimes of genocide, it doesn’t end there. It makes you, the supplier of the genocide, equally guilty of the genocide.”
Protesters displayed placards reading “Man Baby Go Home” and “US Criminals Not Welcome.”
Two women dressed in outfits from The Handmaid’s Tale, a dystopian novel where women are forced into state-controlled reproduction.
One Trump supporter, wearing a Davy Crockett-inspired hat, shouted that he was “the greatest president,” getting boos from a large part of the crowd.
Other speakers included Corbyn’s political partner Zarah Sultana, Green Party leader Zack Polanski, climate campaigners, anti-racism groups and pro-Palestine organizations.
Diane Abbott, another former member of parliament with the Labour Party, also joined the rally.
Southall Black Sisters, a community organization supporting Black and migrant women affected by domestic abuse and gender-based violence, backed the rally.
“We wanted to be part of this to show solidarity with organizations who are opposing the rise of the far right, who are opposing the foulness of politics which is based in division,” a spokeswoman for Southall Black Sisters said.
The spokeswoman, who did not want to have her name because of safety concerns, said, “Last summer when the riots took place, we had to close our office given concerns around immigration centers being targeted.”
She called the situation “hugely concerning and very distressing for our service users” and said it had “raised significant concerns about their safety.”
Sixty per cent of the organization’s service users are women who are migrants with insecure immigration status and no state support, she said.
Protesters and speakers also called Trump a “criminal,” citing ongoing charges in the U.S. and his association with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in 2023 facing trial for sex trafficking.
On Tuesday evening, demonstrators projected images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle, hours before the president attended a state banquet. Police later arrested four men in connection with the display.
Trump arrived in Britain this morning and met the Royal Family at Windsor Castle, where he is staying during his visit.
Police deployed around Westminster stood near barricades facing the demonstrators.
Trump’s second state visit runs from September 17 to 19. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, the prime minister’s country residence in Buckinghamshire, view the Winston Churchill archives and attend a business reception.
The Stop Trump Coalition said it will continue mobilizing opposition during the president’s stay and plans further protests in Edinburgh and other cities.
Anjola Fashawe is a Senior Correspondent with Youth Journalism International.
