A sign is seen near City Hall during the No Kings Day protest in San Francisco in June. Another No Kings protest is planned for Oct. 18.
Manuel Orbegozo/For the S.F. Chronicle
Thousands march from Dolores Park to San Francisco City Hall during the No Kings rally in San Francisco on June 14.
Yalonda M. James/S.F. Chronicle
A second round of No Kings rallies is coming to San Francisco this weekend, and organizers hope to voice their opposition to President Donald Trump just as loudly as last time.
No Kings demonstrations on June 14 drew tens of thousands of people in the Bay Area and millions nationwide. By some estimates, it was one of the largest single-day protests in U.S. history. Those protests were organized in response to the military parade held in Washington, D.C. on Trump’s birthday. Three months later, organizers hope to keep their momentum alive.
“Obviously, things got worse” after the first wave of protests, said Indivisible SF Organizer Liliana Soroceanu. “We said once, ‘no kings.’ Nobody heard us.”
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Soroceanu said tens of thousands of protesters were expected to gather at the San Francisco demonstration on Saturday afternoon. Demonstrations are also planned for Oakland, Berkeley and dozens of other Bay Area cities, possibly causing traffic congestion in some areas.
Why are people protesting?
Although the demonstrations are framed as a broad repudiation of Trump, organizers have especially focused on the immigration crackdown that’s defined the start of his second term. In June, after a spate of charged protests against immigration raids, Trump dispatched National Guard troops to Los Angeles.
He’s suggested similar deployments in nearly a dozen other cities — including San Francisco, though not followed through yet on most of those threats. In the cities he has targeted with troops, many orders have been disputed in court. Saturday’s protests will likely also come more than two weeks into the ongoing shutdown of the federal government. The threat of more National Guard deployment and the shutdown are fueling the continued protest, Soroceanu said.
“We told you once, we didn’t hear us — hear us now,” Soroceanu said. “Instead of taking care of our needs, you’re trying to take away our health care, you shut down the government, you’re abusing your power in terms of civil rights and freedom of speech.”
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Indivisible SF is organizing the city’s protest alongside 50501 SF, National Nurses United and other local activist groups. Soroceanu expects “No Kings 2” to be as big as “No Kings 1,” although she said the number of last-minute arrivals made it hard to estimate the turnout in advance.
Where are the Bay Area’s No Kings protests?
San Francisco protesters will meet at Sue Bierman Park (adjacent to Embarcadero Plaza) at 1:30 on Saturday, then march down Market Street for a rally at Civic Center Plaza. In Ocean Beach, demonstrators will form a human banner spelling “NO KINGS! YES ON 50” — a reference to Proposition 50, the ballot measure to redraw California’s congressional maps to favor Democrats in retaliation for Republicans’ efforts to do the same in Texas.
Demonstrations are planned at cities throughout the Bay Area: in Oakland, protesters will march from Wilma Chan Park to the Lake Merritt Amphitheater at noon, and in Berkeley, protesters will cross University Avenue Bridge at 1 p.m. and display signs to the traffic passing below.
“Millions of people across the country are all going to be out saying, united, with one voice, that we don’t want kings in America,” said Indivisible East Bay Organizer Joey Raff. “We don’t have kings in America. We’re standing up for our fundamental rights and values as a country.”
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No Kings protests are also registered for Mill Valley, Alameda, Vallejo and Walnut Creek, among other Bay Area communities.
What safety measures are in place?
San Francisco protesters are expected to begin their march around 2:00 p.m. Saturday. Organizers will block traffic from cross streets as they march down Market Street on Saturday, but only while pedestrians are in the streets — not for the duration of the event.
Soroceanu said marchers would move quickly and aim to minimize the disruption. Still, traffic delays and transit rerouting are anticipated on roads that intersect with Market Street. Slowdowns could also occur around Civic Center, where protesters plan to rally until 4:30 p.m.
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Evan Sernoffsky, a San Francisco police spokesperson, said the department would be “fully staffed.” In Los Angeles, police and protesters clashed during the No Kings protests this June. While the San Francisco demonstrations were largely peaceful, there were limited reports of vandalism and one incident in which a driver allegedly ran over a protester’s foot while attempting to cross Market Street.
“We don’t expect any disruptions to overall public safety in our city,” Sernoffsky said. “San Francisco experiences major events routinely, and we have some of the best planning and officers available to handle anything that may happen.”