NEW YORK — Scores of city cops are expected to be out on the streets Saturday to monitor and police the thousands of demonstrators attending Saturday’s anti-Trump “No Kings Day” events, Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, giving protesters fair warning that if they break the law, they will be arrested.

“New Yorkers have different emotions right now, and they have a right to express those emotions. But you don’t have a right to engage in violence or lawlessness,” Adams said at a Friday press conference at NYPD Headquarters. “Do not come tomorrow if you want to bring about any cause of problems. New Yorkers should be able to express their concerns without violence or hate.”

Thousands are expected to attend the “No Kings Day” march in Manhattan on Saturday afternoon. Marchers are expected to meet at Bryant Park around 2 p.m. before they march throughout the city. Other events are scheduled in the outer boroughs and Long Island, as well.

Organizers of the “No Kings Day” events estimate that 75,000 protesters will join Saturday’s protest in the city.

The event is billed as a nationwide “day of defiance” against President Donald Trump and his hardline immigration policies. It coincides with Trump’s birthday and military parade in Washington, D.C.

Police Commissioner Tisch said the NYPD would do everything in its power to ensure people are able to exercise their First Amendment right of free speech.

“For those who seek to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights tomorrow, we are there to help you do just that,” she said, adding that “agitators” milling in the crowds may make that difficult.

The NYPD has been policing protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics at Foley Square in lower Manhattan all week, Tisch said. Thousands have attended those protests, during which roughly 100 were arrested for blocking streets, resisting arrest and assaulting police officers.

“We’ve facilitated thousands of peaceful protests,” Tisch said Friday. “When individuals committed crimes, we swiftly arrested them.”

“Tomorrow will be no different,” she added. “For those intent to commit crimes, incite violence, cause property damage and attack our cops, you will be met with the full strength and determination of the greatest police department in the world.”

While they are in constant contact with federal authorities monitoring the situation across the country, Tisch and Adams made it clear to them that they won’t need the National Guard or a military presence to help police the protests as Trump ordered in Los Angeles last weekend.

“We made it clear to them in three simple words: We got this,” Adams said.

No matter how many protesters show up, the number will pale in comparison to the 8.5 million city residents who will be spending the day going about their business, Adams said.

The protesters, he said, will be a “numerical minority” compared to the population of the city, he said.

“We’re not going to romanticize what disorder does to a city. You have seen it played out across the country,” Adams said. “We cannot allow it to happen here.”

“Our job is to make sure people can go to work and that emergency services can go where they have to go to help New Yorkers. We’re not going to allow the numerical minority to impact the quality of life that they deserve.”

_____

©2025 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.