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SAN FRANCISCO – Ahead of the planned “No Kings” protests being held across the Bay and the country this weekend are expected to have some major impacts on commuters. The San Francisco Mass Transit Authority on Friday issued travel guidelines for drivers or commuters planning to traverse the region on Saturday.

“There will be a ‘No Kings’ protest and march along Market Street this Saturday, October 18, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.,” an SFMTA release states. “Muni service along Market Street will be routed onto Mission Street and service that crosses Market will have service switchbacks or reroutes to avoid the march area between, approximately, Market and Beale and Civic Center. There will be numerous street closures for event staging.”

Planned closures

The following streets will be closed from 1:15 to 2:00 p.m.:

Market Street, from Beale Street to Steuart StreetSteuart Street, from Market Street to Howard StreetSpear Street, from Market Street to Folsom StreetMain Street, from Market Street to Howard Street.All intersections with Mission Street will remain open

The following streets will be closed from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.:

Market Street from Eighth Street to Steuart StreetHyde Street from McAllister Street to Market StreetGrove Street from Market Street to Van Ness Avenue

The SFMTA release states that the “protest and march will require multiple Muni routes to deviate off Market Street,” and that people should plan to use the Market Street Subway to travel along Market Street.

A full list of the impacted Muni routes, including the stops they will skip and alternate pick-up and drop-off points, can be found here.

Taking to the streets

There are over 2,500 ‘No Kings’ protests planned across the country on Saturday. It will be the second such protest, and the third mass movement against the administration this year, and it comes amid an intensifying conflict between federal law enforcement and protesters nationwide.

While some conservatives commentators have condemned the protests as “anti-America” rallies, Democrats and progressives say it represents a “patriotic” fight for First Amendment rights.

Bay Area ‘No Kings’ protests:

There are dozens of protests planned across the Bay Area, from Albany to Walnut Creek:

Albany: 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. at the intersection of Solano and San Pablo Avenues.
Antioch: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. 4300 Lone Tree Way
Alameda: 12 p.m. – 12 p.m. Alameda City Hall
Benicia: 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. The Gazebo, First St. and Military East
Berkeley: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Private address, sign up for details
Berkeley: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m., 2000 San Pablo Ave.
Colma: 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. at the intersection of Junipero Serra and Serramonte Boulevards
El Sobrante: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. at the intersection of San Pablo Dam Road and Appian Way
Fremont: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Walnut Ave. and Paseo Padre Parkway
Hayward: Noon – 2 p.m. Old City Hall, 22737 Main St.
Milpitas: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Milpitas City Hall
Mountain View: Noon – 2 p.m. Location to be announced
Oakland: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. 810 Jackson St., followed by a march to Lake Merritt
Pacifica: Noon – 1 p.m. at the entrance to More Point Trail
Palo Alto: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Town and Country Shopping Center
Palo Alto: 1 p.m. – 4  p.m. Rinconada Cultural Park
Pittsburg: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the intersection of Railroad Ave. and Highway 4
Pleasant Hill: Noon – 1:30 a.m. Pleasant Hill City Hall
Redwood City: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. County Center
San Francisco: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. Embarcadero Plaza
San Francisco: 11 a.m. – noon. Ocean Beach
San Francisco: Noon – 1:30 p.m. Sunset Dunes – the Great Highway at Judah
San Jose: Noon – 2 p.m. at the intersection of North 2nd Street and E. Saint James Street
San Mateo: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. West Elm Furniture at the Hillsdale Mall
San Pablo: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. 2079 23rd St.
Sausalito: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. at the intersection of Bridgeway and Napa Street
Sunnyvale: 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. 780 E El Camino Real
Union City: 10 a.m. – noon. Charles F. Kennedy Park
Walnut Creek: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. At the intersection of Mount Diablo Blvd. and Broadway Plaza

Organizers aim to boost political engagement

Ezra Levin, an organizer of one of the planned protests on Saturday, said the demonstrations are a response to what he called Trump’s “crackdown on First Amendment rights.”

Levin, the co-executive director of the nonprofit Indivisible, pointed to Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, his unprecedented promises to use federal power to influence midterm elections, restrictions on press freedom and retribution against political opponents.

He said those steps cumulatively represented a direct threat to constitutionally protected rights.

Round one

The first ‘No Kings’ protests took place on June 14 in cities and towns across the country, in large part to protest a military parade in Washington that marked the Army’s 250th anniversary, and also coincided with Trump’s 79th birthday. Organizers at the time called the parade a “coronation” that was symbolic of what they characterized as Trump’s growing authoritarian overreach.

There was no violence reported at any of the Bay Area events.

Government crackdown on protests

Trump’s crackdown against protests, especially in Democratic cities, has intensified since the June marches. In the months since then, he has deployed National Guard troops to Washington D.C. and Memphis, Tenn. His efforts to deploy troops to Chicago and Portland, Oregon have stalled in federal court.

Trump had also deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 marines to Los Angeles in the days before the first ‘No Kings’ protest.

All but 250 of those soldiers were removed by August, with the administration claiming victory and restored public safety. The U.S. Department of Justice filed charges against 26 people for crimes relating to protests over immigration raids that took place in the city. DOJ prosecutors dismissed eight of those charges — five because of false statements made by U.S. immigration officials.

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