{"id":13017,"date":"2025-10-19T18:41:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T18:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/13017\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T18:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T18:41:09","slug":"thousands-gather-in-oakland-for-nationwide-anti-trump-no-kings-demonstration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/13017\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands Gather in Oakland for Nationwide Anti-Trump \u201cNo Kings\u201d Demonstration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"A protester holds a sign reading \u201cPrison Without Due Process Is a Concentration Camp\u201d while marching down 8th St. in Oakland, Calif., during the \u201cNo Kings\u201d protest on Oct. 18, 2025. (Olivia Raykhman\/Peninsula Press).<\/p>\n

OAKLAND, Calif. \u2013 According to event organizers, over 10,000 demonstrators poured into downtown Oakland on Saturday for one of the largest \u201cNo Kings\u201d rallies in the Bay Area to protest against the Trump Administration.<\/p>\n

Organizers in Oakland framed Saturday\u2019s march as a patriotic stand for democracy. \u201cThis is a \u2018Love America\u2019 rally. People are here because they are united by America\u2019s founding values,\u201d said Oakland rally spokesperson Joey Raff.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Organizers stressed the peaceful nature of the protest both before and during the rally. Republican opponents described the rallies as \u201cHate America\u201d marches.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A No Kings attendee, Richard, who declined to give his last name due to privacy concerns, shared, \u201cWe who disagree with everything that\u2019s going on in the government have only two things we can do. Vote and protest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Kings\u201d represents how \u201c[America] broke away from the Kings way back in 1776, and we\u2019re not gonna go back,\u201d said an activist who declined to give his name out of safety concerns.<\/p>\n

Demonstrators expressed anxiety about the decline in checks and balances under the Trump administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like seeing our democracy become more and more totalitarian,\u201d said demonstrator Cornac Pujals. He wants the executive branch to have less \u201cconcentration of power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protestors called attention to many instances in which they believe President Trump exceeded his authority. Namely, many participants said they were alarmed by National Guard and ICE deployments to cities around the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

KZ, a No Kings attendee, said he believes the National Guard has been deployed \u201cwith the express purpose by the administration to frighten the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A protestor holds a sign that reads, \u201cSince 1776 No Kings,\u201d while waving an American flag on Oct. 18, 2025. (Brianna Sosa\/Peninsula Press).<\/p>\n

Oakland resident Luella Penserga compared today\u2019s ICE deportations to Japanese internment during World War II. \u201cThe fact that we\u2019re living through that today, it\u2019s unconscionable. We can\u2019t have the federal government coming in, taking over, and creating detention camps again,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Michael Cabanatuan from Albany said immigration was his key concern. \u201cRaiding, locking up, taking people off their jobs in the fields, in the meatpacking plants, cleaning buildings, it hurts everybody,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s gotta be a much more reasonable solution that can be negotiated, but the Republican party under Trump isn\u2019t about negotiating.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Protesters noted a host of other grievances that they view as authoritarian. During the march, an organizer yelled into a megaphone: \u201cIf trans rights are under attack, what do we do?\u201d The crowd called back, \u201cstand up, fight back!\u201d This chant was repeated with multiple variations advocating for women\u2019s rights, democracy, healthcare, immigration, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The crowd swelled in front of the Alameda County Administration Building before hearing from speakers including Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, CA District 12 Representative Lateefah Simon, Dr. Stewart Chen, an Oakland Chinatown Community Leader, and MT Snyder representing the Federal Unionists Network.<\/p>\n

The energy was both defiant and festive. Families pushed children in strollers, union members in purple Service Employees International Union shirts led chants, and some attendees dressed as Founding Fathers or wore inflatable animal costumes. Others marched alone or in small groups carrying homemade signs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe movement\u2019s become very diverse,\u201d KZ, said. \u201cIf you look here today, it\u2019s a multi-generational group of people here of all ages. People are coming together across a diverse number of causes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The local rally took on a distinctly Bay Area focus, centering around support for Proposition 50. According to the California Secretary of State Voter\u2019s Guide, Proposition 50<\/a> is a state legislative amendment that \u201cauthorizes temporary changes to congressional district maps in response to Texas\u2019 partisan redistricting.\u201d This state ballot measure is expected to favor California Democrats.<\/p>\n

\"AA demonstrator holds a sign reading \u201cWe the People\u201d at the \u201cNo Kings\u201d protest in Oakland, Calif., on Oct. 18, 2025. The phrase appeared on multiple signs referencing the first words of the United States Constitution and America\u2019s founding principles. (Olivia Raykhman\/Peninsula Press).<\/p>\n

If the measure passes after California\u2019s November 4th special election, new maps would be redrawn in 2026 and redrawn again following the 2030 U.S. Census by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Opponents cited in the Voter Guide maintain that \u201cProp. 50 was written by politicians, for politicians\u2014dismantling safeguards that keep elections fair, removes requirements to keep local communities together, and eliminates voter protections that ban maps designed to favor political parties.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Proponents argue that the measure will \u201creaffirm California\u2019s commitment to independent, nonpartisan redistricting after the next census.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some demonstrators who shared their support for Proposition 50 mentioned that while they would normally object to redistricting, they view this special election as an outlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying that gerrymandering is right, but you can\u2019t let other people do it,\u201d Richard said.<\/p>\n

For many attendees, the rally\u2019s scale was evidence of a growing sense of urgency to show up and speak up for local causes like Proposition 50, because of the potential for national impact.<\/p>\n

Cabanatuan, who plans to vote for Proposition 50 said, \u201cIt\u2019s a California election, but it\u2019s not really a California issue. This is us fighting for the rest of the country and fighting to protect democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Brianna <\/p>\n

\n Brianna Sosa grew up in Virginia and began her professional career as a ballet dancer at 17, performing with the Washington Ballet and the Miami City Ballet. After several years of dancing, she pursued a B.A. in Media Studies from the University of Virginia, focusing her coursework on journalism. During her time at UVA, she reported and produced multimedia work for UVA\u2019s news platform, WUVA, and radio segments for WTJU 91.1FM. After graduation, Brianna lived in Washington D.C., where she worked at the Federal Bureau of Investigation for three years. She hopes to leverage her investigative background to conduct human-centered reporting that uncovers wrongdoing, legitimizes victims\u2019 voices, and holds people and institutions accountable. At Stanford, Brianna is excited to use data analysis to create compelling stories that examine trends affecting the Bay Area\u2019s local communities. Outside of the newsroom, Brianna enjoys knitting, reading, and attending comedy shows. <\/p>\n

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