“No Kings” rallies and marches planned across Bay Area. Here’s what to know.
By Carlos E. Castañeda
Dozens of protests, marches and rallies are scheduled across the Bay Area on Saturday as part of a national “No Kings” mass protest against President Trump and his administration, the second such nationwide protest organized this year.
What are the No Kings protests?
Organizers say Saturday’s No Kings protests against the Trump administration will involve millions gathering in all major cities and in more than 2,500 locations nationwide. The organizers also claim it will be the biggest single-day protest in U.S. history.
The name “No Kings” comes from the notion that Mr. Trump is acting like a monarch instead of the leader of a democracy.
“America has no kings, and the power belongs to the people,” the No Kings website says.
Who is organizing the No Kings protests?
Groups organizing the protests include more than 250 advocacy organizations, including the ACLU, Common Cause, Greenpeace, Human Rights Campaign, MoveOn, NOW, Planned Parenthood, SEIU, Sierra Club, and Veterans for Peace.
In June, organizers of the “No Kings” demonstration said millions participated in events across the country that were planned for the same day Mr. Trump attended a military parade in Washington, D.C., to mark the Army’s 250th anniversary. The protests also came amid heightened tensions over National Guard troop deployments and immigration enforcement actions.
What do the White House, lawmakers say about the No Kings protests?
The White House and Republican lawmakers have dismissed the No Kings protests, with Trump downplaying the upcoming protests to reporters just before a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“They have their day coming up. I hear very few people are gonna be there, by the way,” Trump said. “But they have their day coming up, and they want to have their day in the sun.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Axios that, “left-wing protestors can beclown themselves by lawfully protesting the alternate reality they live in, but violence or breaking the law will not be tolerated.”
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson characterized Saturday’s protests as a “hate America” rally to reporters on Wednesday. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told HuffPost, “The effort to mischaracterize the rallies that are going to take place all across the country is part of the continued right-wing disinformation machine that is failing to persuade the American people as to what this shutdown is all about.”
A majority of the protests in June were non-violent, but there were some instances where protesters and police clashed, including in Los Angeles. In the Bay Area, gatherings and rallies took place in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland, as well as in communities across the region. Organizers said attendees at the June No Kings protests in the Bay Area totaled in the tens of thousands.
