A couple of hundred protestors gathered in Amsterdam’s Museumplein to stage a “No Kings” demonstration on Saturday in support of the anti-Trump rallies taking place across the US.

“I felt like I really had to do something,” said Brooklynite Jonathan Groubert, who has been living in Amsterdam for three decades. “Even though I haven’t lived there for a long time, a large part of my heart and soul is still there, and I have friends and family there and I really care what happens in America.”

During the last No Kings protests in June, some five million people took to the streets across the US to resist what organisers called an autocratic regime and to restore American democracy. This time around, the protests are taking place amidst a government shutdown and as federal troops and ICE immigration agents descend on American cities.

“It makes me cry to see not only what is happening in the US, but the consequences of what happens to the world as a result of the US changing into what is an ostensibly fascist, authoritarian state,” added Groubert

“Unrecognizable, tragic and desperate”

The demonstration, held in front of the US consulate, is one of some two dozen planned around Europe. Protesters chanted: “People united, will never be defeated” and “No kings, no dictators, no fascists!” The canine representation was typically high, with one dog sporting a “Paws up for democracy” sign.

Most of the protesters were American, but some, like 16-year-old Amsterdam high school student Iancu, came out in solidarity with those demonstrating in the US.

“I’m not an American and don’t have a single bit of American in me, but I love that people are united, and I want to say you’re not alone in standing up for injustice in the US. America has a huge influence on me and also the Netherlands,” he said.

Saturday’s protests take place less than two weeks before the Dutch head to the polls, and Groubert, who is a Dutch citizen, said he’s worried about the elections. “The Netherlands is also moving to the right.,” he said.

“The largest party is the PVV, the Freedom Party [of Geert Wilders], and that party looks to Donald Trump for its cues on how to govern. And we see that happening all over Europe, as large extreme right parties look to Trump and Orban in Hungary to see how to make the nation far less democratic and free.”

Many protestors expressed the pain and frustration of watching from an ocean away while the country they grew up in descends into authoritarianism.

“It’s sad what’s happening in America, and I wanted to be with other people who were sad about it,” said Miami native Iris Maher, an English teacher who has called Amsterdam home for 35 years. “It’s good for my friends and family in America to see that people are doing this all over the world.”