Protesters held signs that read, “No kings since 1776,” “Bad Things Happen When Good People Do Nothing,” “Stop the Parade Fund Medicaid,” “When cruelty becomes normal compassion looks radical” and “Make Orwell Fiction Again.”

The parade is expected to include about 6,600 soldiers, 50 helicopters and 60-ton M1 Abrams battle tanks, as well as possibly 200,000 attendees and heightened security to match.

The parade, honoring the Army’s long-planned 250th anniversary celebration and coinciding with Trump’s 79th birthday, is set to step off from the Lincoln Memorial under the threat of stormy weather in Washington and protests around the country tied to a turbulent week of immigration enforcement that has involved military deployment in Los Angeles.

Saturday marks the first full day of Marines on duty in Los Angeles, one week after protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids ignited in LA and spread to other cities across the U.S.,

Protests over President Trump's immigration enforcement raids and his mobilization of the Marines and National Guard in Los Angeles have spread to other major U.S. cities.

Gen. Scott Sherman, the commander overseeing thousands of troops deployed by President Donald Trump in Los Angeles, said 200 Marines will begin guarding the Wilshire Federal Building at noon local time.

U.S. Marines detain a person outside the Wilshire Federal Building after Marines were deployed to Los Angeles, as protests against federal immigration sweeps continue, in Los Angeles, California, U.S.