California and the Capitol: A look at SF, D.C., Berkeley’s ‘No Kings’ protests
Millions of protesters filled the streets across the nation today in opposition to the Trump administration’s policies on immigration, criticism of the federal government shutdown and the handling of policies on Israel and Gaza. “No Kings” was organized through the collaborative efforts of over 200 organizations, including unions, advocacy groups and more. The primary leading organizations are Indivisible, a progressive movement organization with chapters nationwide, and 50501, a new partner protest movement.
While there were more than 2,500 protests across all 50 U.S. states, Golden Gate Xpress covered efforts in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Berkeley.
Ocean Beach
Protesters gathered at Ocean Beach across from Beach Chalet restaurant to spell out “No Kings! Yes on 50!” on the shore. The ”Yes on 50” was a reference to California’s Proposition 50, which will gerrymander California’s congressional map with the goal of gaining more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives for Democrats.
Leigh Anne Varney, who does public relations for the “No Kings” protests, said the turnout and the number of RSVPs increased compared to the first protest in June.
Varney said the widespread publicity of the June 14 protest, as well as their partnerships with Indivisible SF and Mobilize, contributed to the growth of volunteers and participants.
“[It] made national television, like Seth Meyers did a whole combinating griff about it. It made Rolling Stone magazine, New York Times, Washington Post,” Varney said. “I think it put us on the map.”
Participants walked onto the beach and across the sand to form the human banner on the shore as waves rolled onto Ocean Beach. The human banner dispersed around 11:30 a.m. and migrated to Sunset Dunes and downtown San Francisco.
Embarcadero
Karissa Yee, an East Bay resident, has participated in past protests in the Bay. Yee wasn’t able to attend the first “No Kings” protest.
Yee came to the downtown rally dressed as Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the U.S. She held signs with quotes by Franklin that read, “It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority” and “Rebellion against tyranny is obedience to God.”
“I think it’s important to have both sustained action that will make change in your community, as well as large, mass, peaceful actions that will send a message that the American people are not going to accept what’s happening right now,” Yee said.
Chants like “The people united will never be defeated” and “Hey hey! Ho ho! These billionaires have got to go!” echoed throughout Market Street as protesters marched westward.
A woman with a microphone chanted “What do we do?” when marchers responded with “Stand up! Fight back!” as they walked to Civic Center Plaza at 2 p.m. The chant leaders were on an Enterprise truck that had speakers pointed at every direction as they drove down Market Street.
Civic Center Plaza
Thousands of demonstrators flooded Civic Center Plaza for the final destination of the “No Kings” protest. The crowd sang “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers while they waited for the rally to begin.
Louise Swig, a San Francisco resident for the past 70 years and a San Francisco State University alum, sat in the grass at Civic Center Plaza.
“Trump seems to be aiming for a totalitarian government. He wants to send the national guard to San Francisco; it’s all just terrible ideas,” Swig said. “I love San Francisco. I’ve lived here for decades. We don’t need the national guard, and no other city does either.”
As the rally began, more protesters started to trickle in to watch the guest speakers. One of the speakers was Dr. Angela Davis, an activist and former professor at SFSU, who holds a doctorate in philosophy. Davis has been involved in many justice movements all across the world.
Davis’ speech began with stating that those present are not complicit with fascism.
“Trump — I hate even mentioning his name — he might have won the last election, he would not have won if it weren’t for the billionaire capitalists,” Davis said in her speech.
San Francisco resident Adam Berns stood in admiration of the people who attended the event today. Berns said that since the government shut down, it’s gotten to a level where people are starting to understand that specific policies are going to affect their lives negatively.
“Since the first ‘No Kings’ protest, there’s been a lot of hostility from the Trump administration — especially with him sending in the national guard to different cities, especially blue cities,” Berns said. “It’s affecting people on a more individualistic level, that’s why you’re going to see a bigger influx of people today.”
This “No Kings” protest was predicted to have a larger turnout than the previous one held last June.
Another guest speaker at the rally was SFSU alum Cleve Jones. Jones is an American human rights, AIDS and LGBTQ+ activist. He was under the mentorship of the city supervisor and activist Harvey Milk until his assassination in 1978.
“They did not come to govern, they came to destroy,” Jones said to rally-goers. “The danger to our lives and liberty is very real; the beast is at the door. We will not comply. This is our country.”
James Maxwell, a San Francisco resident, said the city “shows a lot more grit than other places.”
“Not only do a lot of people come out, it’s a mix of everyone,” Maxwell said. “It’s important to show that we care.”
Just out of high school, Maxwell was interested in joining the military, but now he isn’t sure how he feels due to the current political climate.
“As a Black American, there’s a lot of dangers for joining the military for me,” Maxwell said. “I have to figure out where I stand. I think it’s a good opportunity as long as certain individuals don’t affect that.”
As protesters began to fade out of the plaza around 5:30 p.m., the energy carried to the walk to the BART station. The signs remained held, chants were said and protestors mingled with one another.
“We get rowdy here, we get colorful here, we’re very prideful here of our city,” Berns said.
Thousands of attendees from across the country gathered at the eastern side of the National Mall, redirecting traffic and blocking off bus routes in Washington, D.C. People were dressed in costumes, from Lady Liberty to Thomas Jefferson, with painted slogans on umbrellas and banners alike.
Jennifer Turner, a third-grade teacher, held a sign reading, “Don’t deport my students, immigrants are essential.” She said that her students were scared following visits by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at schools in their county.
“Our school draws from several communities, so we have some quite affluent, privileged students as well as students from very low-income and immigrant communities, and they are all afraid,” Turner said. “The teachers and parents have always supported our schools and are so happy to be in America. I feel like it’s a travesty to have them [parents] be afraid when they’re such a supportive and integral fabric of our community.”
A father-daughter pair from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Michael Replogle came dressed as Thomas Jefferson, bringing his daughter Ava Morgenstern.
“I’m dressed as Thomas Jefferson because he fought and helped to lead our revolution to win our freedom against corruption, tyrants in Britain and against the King,” Replogle said. “We’re here today to protest against Trump trying to establish himself as a new king. We don’t accept kings in America. We are a free democracy.”
In the history of single-day protests, the first “No Kings” protest on June 14 ranks third in estimated attendance, trailing only the 1970 First Earth Day and the 1986 Hands Across America protest. Replogle said that he and his daughter believe this second “No Kings” protest will be the biggest demonstration in American history.
“I’m proud to be here with my daughter, and we are here to help represent America, and to show that America stands for freedom, justice, equality and fairness, not cruelty, corruption and chaos,” Replogle said.
Mark Matulef, a federal employee who was furloughed, held a sign with the slogan, “No more lies: Hatch Act Violation.” The Hatch Act, a federal law passed in 1939, limits the political activities of government employees who work in federally funded programs to ensure that federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan manner.
“We’ve seen a lot of partisan political activity at cabinet-level agencies,” Matulef said. He cited government web pages that he says encourage a divide between political parties.
“If you go to places like many federal agencies like hud.gov, you’ll see these anti-Democratic party messages that the ‘Democrats closed the government,’” Matulef said. “That’s an ethical violation, that’s using public funds for partisan purposes.”
J.H., a government contractor who declined to disclose their name, said they came all the way from northern Virginia to participate in “No Kings” to protest Trump’s narrative of Democrats. Many government websites, like the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, stated that “the Radical Left in Congress shut down the government.” Trump has made numerous social media posts to describe Democratic and liberal ideologies.
“I don’t think anyone’s really safe at these times, especially when the administration and congressional Republicans are coming out saying we are anti-American because we’re standing up for the Constitution, that we are terrorists if we are liberals,” J.H. said.
Another motivation to make the trip came from wanting to stand against “human abuse violations” in regards to the deportation of immigrants and ICE raids.
“I think the authoritarian direction that we’re going in is horrifying with the fact that the administration is supporting violations to the Constitution, crimes against human rights, the way they’ve justified breaking down doors,” J.H. said.
Alla H., a volunteer who declined to provide a last name for privacy concerns, guided protesters to nearby resources, like water, food and restrooms.
“I love America when it’s doing well and I would like us to do better,” Alla H. said.
The “No Kings” protest at the University of California, Berkeley, brought about 500 marching attendees from the school’s main entrance to the intersection of Oxford and Center streets. Some protesters walked on stilts while others ambled along in inflated costumes with the support of honking cars behind them.
Streets were written over with chalked messages that were later brought to life with chants saying, “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA,” “H-O-T-T-O-G-O, Trump has got to go,” and “this is what democracy looks like.”
Another Berkeley location protesters went to was two freeway overpasses along Interstate Highway 80. The ground shook as protesters marched across the bridge.
On I-80, Raven Sia, a protester, attended with her husband and child. Sia called the current administration “the worst administration in her lifetime.”
“My 10-year-old neighbor made these earrings in order to raise money for families that are being attacked and terrorized by ICE,” Sia said. “The fact that my kid and my neighbor’s kids are needing to raise money to get involved at the tender ages of 10 and 11 to protect their neighbors is ludicrous.”
Accompanying Sia was her friend Zeina Saad, a Lebanese immigrant who came to protest her dislike for the Trump administration.
“I just feel like we’re moving backwards,” Saad said. “There’s a lot of things happening, cutting things and rearranging how we do things in this country that I don’t agree with. So I’m here just to show that I don’t agree with those things. The U.S. is a place a lot of countries look to for how to govern and how to be in the international space and I think it’s failing right now, big time.”
Harper Rathmann, dressed up in a werewolf furry costume, had a sign saying “I Bite Fascists.” Rathmann, who is neurodivergent, said Trump targeted people with disabilities by appointing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the position of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. In the past month, Kennedy Jr. linked autism to the use of Tylenol, and the National Institute of Health expressed interest in creating a registry for people on the spectrum.
“They’ve also been talking about institutionalizing people with disabilities and people on the autism spectrum, which is just terrifying,” Rathmann said. “They think that we can’t live in society or we can’t function in society.”
Stella, a protester who declined to give their last name, wants the government to enact Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, which would bring charges of impeachment against Trump.
“There’s a Turkish proverb that says if a clown moves into the palace, he doesn’t become king, the palace becomes a circus,” Stella said. “And that’s exactly what we currently have.”
