ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA — Thousands of people stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the Minnesota Capitol lawn and surrounding streets in St. Paul on Saturday as singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen headlined the flagship No Kings rally. Springsteen and other speakers praised Minnesota residents for taking to the streets over the winter in opposition to a surge of U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement agents.

Springsteen performed the song "Streets of Minneapolis," which he wrote in response to the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents. He lamented their deaths and said the state's pushback against ICE has given the rest of the country hope.

"This past winter, federal troops brought death and terror to the streets of Minneapolis, but they picked the wrong city," Springsteen said at the rally. "Your strength and your commitment told us that this was still America. And this reactionary nightmare, and these invasions of American cities, will not stand."

Before Springsteen took the stage, organizers played a video in which actor Robert DeNiro said he wakes up every morning depressed because of Trump but was happier because millions of people were protesting. In the video, DeNiro congratulated Minnesotans for running ICE out of town.

Protesters held a sign on the Capitol steps that read, "We had whistles, they had guns. The revolution starts in Minneapolis." Singer Joan Baez, actor Jane Fonda, and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders were among the speakers at the Minnesota rally.

Gov. Tim Walz introduced Springsteen at the rally and called President Donald Trump a wannabe dictator. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, addressed the crowd about the nationwide protests. "Donald Trump may pretend that he's not listening, but he can't ignore the millions in the streets today," Weingarten said.

Organizers designated the rally at the Minnesota Capitol as the national flagship event. Springsteen wrote and recorded "Streets of Minneapolis" in the aftermath of the ICE shootings of Good and Pretti. He debuted the song live on January 30 at a benefit concert at First Avenue in Minneapolis and performed it a second time at Democracy Now!'s 30th anniversary event in New York.