LONDON ― The U.S. Embassy in the U.K. issued a warning to American citizens in London on Tuesday, alerting them that protests planned during President Donald Trump’s visit to the country later this week could get heated. Americans, it advised, should “keep a low profile.”
Trump lands in London on Thursday, following his trip to Brussels for a NATO summit, but will largely avoid the city. Mass protests are expected across Britain, leading police to mobilize to a degree not seen since 2011.
About 50,000 people are planning to demonstrate in London alone on Friday, the day when Trump has meetings planned with both Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth II in the countryside. Protesters are also expected to show up at Chequers, the prime minister’s country residence, and Windsor Castle.
The embassy cautioned people to be aware of their surroundings and “exercise caution if unexpectedly in the vicinity of large gatherings that may become violent.”
Democrats Abroad, the official overseas wing of the Democratic Party, countered the embassy’s messaging, calling upon Americans living in the U.K. to come out in full force on Friday.
Trump heads to Britain just days after several high-level cabinet ministers, including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, resigned over Brexit negotiations.
“So I have NATO, I have the U.K. ― that’s a situation with turmoil,” he said upon departing Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
His trip was downgraded from a state visit to a more informal working visit after British lawmakers objected to him getting the full treatment.