In the lead-up to the coup, pro-military protesters had begun rallying in an attempt to de-legitimise the results of the 2020 elections.[166] On 2 February the first protest was made against the coup and four arrests were made on 4 February when thirty citizens protested against the coup d'état, in front of the University of Medicine in Mandalay.
Within a week public protests had grown in size and spread to other cities across the country. The largest protests in Yangon attracted at least 150,000 protesters, gathering at the Hledan junction and around Sule Pagoda in Downtown Yangon. Protesters defied martial law, and continued to organise larger public protests across the country.Police began a crackdown of protests, firing live and rubber bullets, and using water cannons to disperse the crowds causing serious injuries in some cases.Conversely some rallies were held in support of the State Administration Council.
By mid February there were reports of fatalities among civilians, notably the death of Mya Thwe Thwe Khine at a hospital, ten days after having been shot in the head. On 8 March 2021, approximately two hundred protestors were besieged in Sanchaung, Yangon, as stun grenades and live ammunition were used by security forces, prompting calls from the United Nations and British Embassy in Myanmar asking security forces to withdraw.
On March 14, protestors attack and burned Chinese-run factories in the industrial district of Hlaing Tha Yar, Yangon. 38 protestors were killed during the day.
The most violent day of the protests came on 27 March, the annual Armed Forces Day holiday, at least 107 were reported to have killed the highest death toll of any individual day.
Protests continue in April and May, young protesters held "lightning strike" flash marches against the military in the districts of Yangon.
On 6 June, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Yangon and across Myanmar, calling for a "spring revolution". Security forces cracked down on protesters in Hsipaw, killing at least two people.
On 19 June, protests divided the country between those celebrating Suu Kyi's 76th birthday and pro-military protesters across the country. The name of pro-Suu Kyi protests was chosen as "Flower Protests" due to the use of flowers on her clothing by Suu Kyi.