"No Kings" marches, events seen across Bay Area in latest mass protests against Trump administration
Demonstrations took place across the Bay Area on Saturday against the Trump administration as part of the latest "No Kings" protests across the U.S. and worldwide.
Protests were seen in dozens of Bay Area cities, including San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. The events were part of what organizers called a nationwide day of action on a range of issues - including immigration, civil rights, and foreign policy.
Organizers say there were more than 3,100 events planned across all 50 states and in other countries. In the U.S., the turnout was expected to top nine million people, which could be one of the largest single-day demonstrations in the nation's history. The first two "No Kings" national protests last year drew an estimated five million people in June and seven million in October.
Turnout expectations were high following the backlash over President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, as well as the U.S. war with Iran and the resulting crisis in the Middle East. The No Kings rally at the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul was designated as the national flagship event after the state became a focal point of resistance following the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis.
Similar anti-Trump rallies and protests were also seen in over a dozen other countries.
Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, the progressive group behind the No Kings protests, said the movement's goal is "safeguarding American democracy, protecting our communities and the people who are under threat by this regime."
"With every ICE raid, every escalation abroad, and every abuse of power at home, Americans are rising up in opposition to Trump's attempt to rule through fear and force," Levin said. "That is why people across the country are organizing, showing up for their neighbors, and making one thing unmistakably clear: we are done with the corruption, the cruelty, and the authoritarianism."
As in the two previous No Kings days, the White House dismissed the nationwide protests, calling them the product of "leftist funding networks" and not reflective of actual public support. Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have characterized the protests as "hate America" rallies.
"The only people who care about these Trump Derangement Therapy Sessions are the reporters who are paid to cover them," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
The largest Bay Area No Kings event was expected in San Francisco with a noon march from the Embarcadero to Civic Center Plaza, where protesters will rally. Separately, as in previous No Kings days, demonstrators formed a "human banner" at Ocean Beach.
In the East Bay, rallies and marches were planned at Oakland's Frank Ogawa Plaza, Alameda City Hall, and in the cities of Albany, Antioch, Berkeley, Concord, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Fremont, Hayward, Lafayette, Milpitas, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, Richmond and San Leandro.
San Jose was holding a No Kings rally at St. James Park beginning at noon. Other events in the South Bay and Peninsula were scheduled in Half Moon Bay, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Mateo and Sunnyvale.
In the North Bay, more than 20 cities and towns were holding No Kings events, including American Canyon, Fairfield, Mill Valley, Napa, Novato, Petaluma, San Anselmo, Santa Rosa, San Rafael and Sausalito.
