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Any instance of violence could be used as a pretext for the Trump administration to crack down on civil liberties, organizers say.

"The destruction is what the administration wants, sadly," said Gaye Adams, an organizer of Tucson's "No Kings Day" protest, part of a nationwide day of action planned for June 14. "They want an excuse to clamp down on us, and we’re not gonna give them one."

Saturday's "No Kings Day" events come on the heels of an outbreak of violence at an anti-ICE protest Wednesday night, as some protesters clashed with private security officers protecting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office on Tucson's south side.

Tucson police confirmed three people were arrested Wednesday night as police moved to clear the area, three hours after the protest began. No injuries were reported among officers or protesters, but private security officers were assaulted, TPD said in a Thursday .

The chaotic scene — which many of Wednesday's peaceful attendees disavowed — followed a peaceful demonstration in downtown Tucson the night before, in which close to 300 people gathered in a show of solidarity with large-scale, anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles.

Saturday's "No Kings Day" events will be family-friendly, with music, food, art tables and games for children in the morning at Reid Park, and a vehicle caravan scheduled for the afternoon. Organizers say participants and leaders of the official events are committed to nonviolence and are coordinating with law enforcement.

Hundreds have already registered for Saturday's events, which are intended to inspire and unite, Adams said, and to give an outlet for expression to those furious and distraught over current events.

"A lot of the young people are really suffering. But if they have a sense of purpose, it can change the whole dynamic," she said. "I'm outraged, too. A lot of my friends, people I've known for decades, are being harassed and hunted right now. But I think violence and trying to fight the federal government directly is a big mistake. I think we have to be strategic, and sober, and prepared."

At Saturday afternoon's vehicle caravan here for "No Kings Day," organizers have assigned six drivers to act as observers and peacekeepers, said Bennett Burke of Democracy Unites Us, which has led Tucson's protests against Tesla CEO Elon Musk in recent months. 

"We stress cooperation," said Burke, the police liaison for Democracy Unites Us. "We do the best we can to create peaceful opportunities for people to exercise their First Amendment rights."

Peaceful protest — and meeting any state violence with non-violent resistance — is critical to growing the resistance, Burke said. That can include outreach to Trump voters who don’t support the president's recent actions, he said.

"That is helping to win over people, when they can see clearly the brutality of agents of the state attacking peaceful people," he said. That moral clarity is muddled when protesters fight back physically, or instigate the violence, he said.

If violence occurs Saturday, Adams said organizers are advising those around the agitation to "sit down, put their signs down and be quiet, and take a lot of pictures."

"Then just let the peacekeepers, or God forbid if it has to be law enforcement, let them handle it," Adams said, adding, "I really think this is going to be light and fun, and a big party day."

Nationwide day of action

"No Kings Day of Defiance" protests are planned in nearly 2,000 cities and towns nationwide on Saturday, scheduled to coincide with a military parade in Washington for the Army’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, the Associated Press reported. The parade will feature hundreds of military vehicles and aircraft and thousands of soldiers.

National organizers of the protests say they reject authoritarianism, billionaire-first politics and the militarization of the country's democracy, according to a No Kings press release.

“The flag doesn’t belong to President Trump. It belongs to us,� the No Kings website says. “On June 14th, we’re showing up everywhere he isn’t — to say no thrones, no crowns, no kings.�

Trump said Tuesday that any protesters at Saturday's parade in D.C. would be "met with heavy force," and Texas has already deployed 5,000 National Guardsmen to respond to No Kings, the AP reported.

Arizona's top prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine, issued a statement Thursday citing the "recent civil unrest" in Tucson, and promising a swift response to any "violations of federal law that arise out of intentional disruption to law and order" this weekend.

"We want to be abundantly clear — the constitutional right to peacefully protest must be protected," said Courchaine, who was appointed in February by Attorney General Pam Bondi. "However, there are entities who are using that right as a cover to perpetrate violence, rioting, and destruction in our streets. That behavior cannot be tolerated."

Clashes with security

Following a surge in ICE raids at workplaces in Los Angeles and other major cities, thousands have taken to the streets to protest over the past week, in a movement that has spread across the U.S.

Against the wishes of state and local leaders in California, the Trump administration has federalized and deployed 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, in response to instances of violence at protests in downtown L.A. The Defense Department has also sent 700 active-duty Marines.

In Tucson, several hundred protesters gathered at the intersection of South Country Club Road and Valencia at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, with a plan to march up the road to the ICE office, as part of an anti-ICE protest and a show of solidarity with immigrants.

But as the crowd reached about six private security officers behind metal barricades near the ICE office, a confrontation broke out and some protesters forced their way through the barriers, pushing them into the security officers.

Many in the crowd retreated or left as the confrontation began, but some who remained threw rocks, balloons filled with paint and smoke bombs. Some also formed a front line using makeshift shields.

The security officers used chemical irritants such as pepper spray and deployed a flash bang. One protester appeared to use bear spray on the security officers, who eventually retreated.

As dozens of Tucson Police Department reinforcements arrived in riot gear around 5:30 p.m., the crowd moved back from the ICE office and re-grouped a short distance away in the same business plaza.

For almost an hour, the 100 or so remaining protesters continued rallying a couple hundred feet from the line of TPD officers, before returning to the intersection of Valencia and County Club, partially shut down by that time.

Around 7:30 p.m. TPD began clearing the area, after declaring an unlawful assembly and asking everyone to leave.

Police arrested three people Wednesday, who were booked into Pima County Jail: Natalia Navarra, 23, for unlawful assembly and resisting arrest; Sulutasen Amador, 46, for obstructing a public thoroughfare and disorderly conduct; and Hannah Hartranett, 23, for obstructing a public thoroughfare and unlawful assembly, according to police.

Earlier Wednesday, Tucson Police Chief Chad Kasmar issued a statement saying, "Federal immigration enforcement operations have been occurring throughout Arizona, including locations in Tucson. We recognize that these activities cause concern and uncertainty for members of our community. The Tucson Police Department is not involved in federal immigration enforcement operations."

"We fully respect the constitutional rights of individuals to peacefully assemble and express their views. Our role is to help ensure the safety of all involved and to treat everyone with dignity and respect," Kasmar wrote.

ICE spokeswoman Yasmeen Pitts-O'Keefe has not responded to the Star's request for comment on Tucson's protest and the surge in anti-ICE demonstrations nationally.

The lack of clear leadership for Wednesday's protest — dubbed "Melt ICE," in a flyer advertising the protest — could have been a risk factor for violence, experienced organizers say. 

Tucson's chapter of Veterans For Peace, which raises public awareness of the causes and costs of war through nonviolent means, issued a statement Thursday condemning Wednesday's violence.

Long-time VFP organizer Alex Maldonado called the incident a "disappointment," especially since the broader protest movement sweeping Tucson over the past four months has remained peaceful until Wednesday, he said.

Nonviolence is also more effective, he said.

"The longer we keep it peaceful, the longer we can be out there without any problems," he said.

Tanya Nuñez is an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which is among the groups participating in Saturday's event and in recent anti-ICE demonstrations. The group prioritizes safety and opposes any violence at protests, she said.

But Nuñez said instances of violence at protests are dwarfed by what she called the violence of recent government actions, including family separations, violent ICE arrests and now the deployment of the military to U.S. streets.

"The system has been more violent than any of these (protest) incidents," Nuñez said. "We need to remember what’s important and what we’re really standing up against, and not be distracted by these individual incidents." 

"We have the numbers"

Wednesday's demonstration began peacefully. Protesters waved flags, blew bubbles and displayed anti-Trump and anti-ICE protest signs, chanting in support of immigrants, workers and Palestinians.

Protester Miroslava Hernandez said she felt compelled to take action against the "cruelty" of Trump's mass-deportation campaign.

"I just can't see myself not trying to stop this in some way. It's too much. It's too cruel," she said at the start of Wednesday's protest. "I think this will go down in history as a very dark time for this country, and I want to be able to say, 'I spoke up. I was there.' Hopefully we can make a difference."

Protester Taylor Smith, 28, said she rendered aid to a man who had been pepper sprayed Wednesday. The Tucson tattoo artist said the chaos at the protest doesn't reflect most protesters' actions and shouldn't overshadow their message.

"I think a lot of people out here tonight wanted to just peacefully demonstrate that this isn't the America we want to live in," she said. "My goal tonight was to come out in support of what's happening across the country right now. I feel like we're really teetering on fascism. ... We're taking people without due process, and that's not okay. That's not the America that I stand for and I want to live in."

Peaceful mass resistance has power that no government can contend with, said 'No Kings' organizer Adams.

"We have the numbers," she said. "So we have to use what we have."