United States and Canada Overview: April 2026

Demonstration trends

This section provides key figures on demonstration events, which includes incidents categorized as "Protests," and "Violent demonstrations" as recorded by ACLED. For more information on event and sub-event types, see the ACLED Codebook

Radical group trends

This section provides key figures on far-right and white nationalist groups.²

United States: No Kings returns for its third iteration of widespread anti-Trump demonstrations 

More than 2,400 anti-Trump demonstrations were organized across every state and in Washington, DC, for the third No Kings day of action on 28 March. This marks the most demonstrations recorded in a single day since ACLED began tracking the US in 2020 — a record previously set by prior No Kings days of action on 14 June and 18 October 2025. It also resulted in the most anti-Trump demonstrations recorded in a single month. 

According to organizers, at least 8 million people participated in the demonstrations, with the 50501 movement, Indivisible, and a large coalition of dozens of other groups organizing local demonstrations across the country.³ Internationally, solidarity No Kings protests (sometimes branded as “no tyrants” in countries with monarchies) were also held across more than a dozen countries, mainly organized by Democrats Abroad. No Kings 3 demonstrators denounced President Donald Trump and his mass deportation agenda, and called for protections for voting rights, health care, education, and other progressive causes. 

The overwhelming majority of No Kings 3 demonstrations were peaceful — over 99% — reflecting the organizers’ emphasis on nonviolent tactics and de-escalation, which they describe as a “core principle” of the movement.⁴ However, in at least two instances, both of which took place at ICE-related landmarks, violent incidents were reported. 

Outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, a group of demonstrators — who broke away from a larger crowd of over 100,000 people — threw rocks, bottles, and chunks of concrete at officers, who made at least 66 arrests. In Portland, demonstrators broke open the gate of an ICE facility that has been a regular site of protest, threw rocks at police, and vandalized the building. This demonstration, which took place at night, followed a larger peaceful protest earlier in the day. 

In a handful of instances, No Kings demonstrators faced opposition from extremist groups. In Dallas, Texas, a small fight involving two people was reported at an otherwise peaceful demonstration of more than 2,000 people, which was met by a counter-demonstration featuring the founder of the Oath Keepers and the leader of the Proud Boys. In Rib Mountain, Wisconsin, armed men wearing patches emblazoned with neo-Nazi symbols gathered across the street from a No Kings protest, though no violence between the groups was reported. 

United States: Iran-related demonstrations decline following a small spike

Demonstrations against US military intervention in Iran spiked to over 90 in the first week of March, immediately following the beginning of the conflict on 28 February, before declining to fewer than a dozen per week for the next several weeks. Though the war in Iran created a global crisis that continues to dominate headlines and send shockwaves reverberating through global markets, it has not been a particularly potent driver of protests in the United States, especially when compared to issues like migration. Likewise, US intervention in Iran was not a central theme at most demonstrations organized for the No Kings Day III day of action. However, the portion of the demonstrations that did protest the war caused the total number of anti-war demonstrations in March to roughly double in a single day.

United States & Canada: Small spike in antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-US attacks after the Iran war begins

Since the United States and Israel struck Iran on 28 February, several antisemitic, anti-Israel, and/or anti-US attacks have taken place across the United States and Canada, including at least two directly related to the war. 

The deadliest attack took place just a day after the initial strike, on 1 March, when a man wearing a shirt with an Iranian flag design and a hoodie with the text “Property of Allah,” shot indiscriminately at patrons of a beer garden in Austin, Texas, killing three people. Police killed the attacker, who was a naturalized US citizen of Senegalese origin. 

At a Michigan synagogue, the Jewish community was targeted in another attack that was halted before anyone could be killed. On 12 March, a man rammed his truck through the entrance of a synagogue in West Bloomfield before engaging in a firefight with security guards. The attacker, who was later found dead from a gunshot wound, was the only person killed in the attack. He was a naturalized US citizen of Lebanese origin who had recently lost four relatives due to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, including a brother who the Israeli military claimed was a member of Hezbollah.⁵

A series of other incidents in Canada may be related to the conflict, but the motivations of the perpetrators, none of whom have been identified, remain unclear. From 2 to 10 March, at least three synagogues and a US consulate were shot at in the Greater Toronto area. No one was injured in any of the attacks, which were carried out in the early morning, but bullet holes were left in the exterior of the buildings. 

March also saw at least two incidents linked to the Islamic State (IS): a failed IED attack outside the mayor’s residence in Manhattan on 7 March and a shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk on 12 March. These incidents took place more than a year after the previous IS-linked attack in the US, a New Year's Day truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people. 

As a result of the war, security and intelligence services in the United States and Canada will face increased difficulties in tracking threats related to Iran. At the same time, the destabilization of Iran may allow some Sunni extremist groups in the Levant to rebuild, increasing the risk of future attacks. There is some evidence that IS, in particular, hopes to exploit the chaos of the war to attract new followers.⁶ Both developments increase the danger for future attacks, with Iran-related threats posing a greater risk in the near-term.