Alphabet-owned robotaxi company Waymo is limiting its operations in response to Saturday’s nationwide “No Kings” protests aimed at President Donald Trump and his policies.
A Waymo spokesperson confirmed the service reductions to Wired on Friday. According to the report, Waymo’s operations have been impacted in San Francisco, Austin, Atlanta, and Phoenix. Service in Los Angeles has been fully suspended. It remains unclear how long the changes will remain in effect.
The move follows last weekend’s protests in Los Angeles, where five Waymo vehicles were set on fire and defaced with anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) graffiti during demonstrations against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. In response, Waymo temporarily suspended service in downtown LA.
Although the specific reasons protestors are targeting autonomous vehicles are not entirely clear, some speculate that the cars are viewed as potential surveillance tools. Police departments have previously requested access to robotaxi footage for investigations. Waymo, however, states that “it challenges requests that it sees as overly broad or lacking a legal basis.”
In the wake of escalating tensions, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the city’s fire chief told officials on Wednesday: “In a period of civil unrest, we will not try to extinguish those fires unless they are up against a building.”
Demonstrators filled streets, parks, and plazas across the United States on Saturday, rallying under the “No Kings” banner. Their chants mixed anti-authoritarian sentiment with calls to protect democracy and immigrant rights.
Organizers claimed that millions of people participated in hundreds of events across the country. State governors urged peace and zero tolerance for violence, while some states deployed the National Guard as a precaution. Despite the heightened alert, confrontations were largely isolated.
Massive, energized crowds gathered in cities like New York, Denver, Chicago, Houston, and Los Angeles. In Atlanta, the 5,000-person capacity at the main protest site was quickly reached, with thousands more gathered outside the barricades to listen to speakers in front of the Georgia State Capitol.
In Philadelphia, marchers defied light rain and moved through the city chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets!” before assembling at the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. There, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) rallied the crowd, shouting: “So what do you say, Philly? Are you ready to fight back? Do you want a gangster state or do you want free speech in America?”
Meanwhile, President Trump remained in Washington for a military parade commemorating the Army’s 250th anniversary, which coincided with his birthday. Around 200 protesters gathered nearby in Logan Circle, chanting “Trump must go now” before cheering as a giant puppet caricature of Trump—wearing a crown and seated on a golden toilet—was wheeled through the crowd.
Across the country, symbols of dissent were everywhere. Some protestors waved American flags; others flew them upside down in a traditional signal of national distress. Mexican flags—common in Los Angeles immigration protests—also appeared in Saturday’s events.
In some regions, tensions flared. In Charlotte, protesters clashed briefly with police who blocked their march using bicycles. “Let us walk,” the crowd chanted. In northern Atlanta, law enforcement used tear gas to divert hundreds of protestors attempting to reach Interstate 285. In Florida, demonstrators approached the gates of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach but were turned back by sheriff’s deputies.
In Minnesota, organizers canceled protests altogether as police investigated the shootings of two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses.
Saturday’s demonstrations follow a week of unrest over federal immigration raids and President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where protesters had previously blocked highways and torched vehicles.
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