![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/sut-l-no-kings-016.jpg\")
Mary Brown, 73, of Clairemont, waves to passing motorists during a No Kings Rally at the intersection of Camino Ruiz and Mira Mesa Boulevard in Mira Mesa on Saturday. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\nThis time there was less venting, smaller crowds and the outrage was not nearly so broad.<\/p>\n
But as hundreds of thousands of Americans turned out Saturday across San Diego County and the nation at large to again declare \u201cNo Kings,\u201d and disrupt the Trump administration policy agenda, the indignity was no less palpable.<\/p>\n
It was far more focused than the previous rallies in March and October 2025.<\/p>\n
Mary Brown, 73, of Clairemont, waves to passing motorists during a No Kings Rally at the intersection of Camino Ruiz and Mira Mesa Boulevard in Mira Mesa on Saturday. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to be another voice showing disagreement with our current administration,\u201d said Ann Ravitch, a retired real estate agent from La Mesa who attended the \u201cNo Kings\u201drally in Balboa Park.<\/p>\n
Ravitch formally cast her vote Saturday, dropping her ballot into the county registrar\u2019s drop box along Laurel Street just inside Balboa Park, one of the more than two dozen \u201cNo Kings\u201d rally sites in San Diego County.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a Constitution we need to live by,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The fourth major \u201cNo Kings\u201d protest since President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term was clear-eyed and succinct.<\/p>\n
Rather than fight a litany of grievances \u2014 the war in Iran, tariffs, data centers or what many see as corruption in Washington, D.C. \u2014 the message Saturday was almost entirely single-minded: Vote and vote early.<\/p>\n
Your election guide: The San Diego Union-Tribune\u2019s guide to the Nov. 3, 2026, general election<\/a><\/p>\n With two weeks until the midterm elections, the \u201cNo Kings\u201d organizers turned away from summoning massive crowds like the 50,000-plus who crowded into Waterfront Park last year and marched down Harbor Drive.<\/p>\n Instead, they pushed the ballot, reminding people that the government exists to serve the people and that they have the power to choose their elected leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cThis one is different because these are little events that are spread out across the country,\u201d said Roxanne Bornowski, the Indivisible San Diego volunteer who helped organize the Balboa Park event.<\/p>\n \u201cThese actions are designed to promote early voting and election protection,\u201d Bornowski said. \u201cIt\u2019s important because we know our elections are under attack.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.S. military veteran cited ongoing immigration sweeps, demands for state and local voter data and the possibility that federal agents will be dispatched to polling places as urgent threats to democracy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t know what red lines are going to be crossed, so we want people to vote early,\u201d Bornowski said.<\/p>\n Photos: No Kings Rallies<\/a><\/p>\n The Balboa Park rally drew more than 1,000 people, with a live band, speeches, a voter registration drive and a plan-to-vote kits. More than a few people waved American flags as they walked the lawn, some turned upside down to signal urgent distress.<\/p>\n Other protests were held in El Cajon, Chula Vista, Del Mar, Oceanside and other San Diego County communities, with each event focused on turning out the vote ahead of the Nov. 3 election.<\/p>\n In Mira Mesa, about 60 protesters crowded the corners at the traffic-heavy intersection of Camino Ruiz and Mira Mesa Boulevard.<\/p>\n It was hot, about 91 degrees, accompanied by dry Santa Ana winds. Many protesters stood on sidewalks as long as they could before seeking shade beneath trees in front of a nearby bank.<\/p>\n The gathering was civil and even a bit jovial. Music from a portable speaker played classic protest songs like \u201cWar,\u201d by Edwin Starr.<\/p>\n The location was a block away from the Mira Mesa Library, another ballot-collection site. Organizers encouraged people to drop off their ballots and head over to the intersection to picket.<\/p>\n Wendy Gelernter, a Take Action San Diego member and organizer of the Mira Mesa protest, said every neighborhood participating in the countywide event was able to dictate their own tone.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the reason (this election) is so important is because the threats against democracy keep being escalated every two years,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever seen this concerted, this organized, this blatant of an effort to actually interfere with people\u2019s right to vote.<\/p>\n \u201cNo matter what party you\u2019re in, that should be a real concern,\u201d Gelernter said.<\/p>\n Around 350 protesters in Oceanside stretched along Coast Highway from Sportfisher Drive to Mission Avenue, organizers estimated. At around 4 p.m., cheers from the crowd and honks of support from passing cars rang throughout Oceanside Civic Center Plaza, the epicenter of the gathering.<\/p>\n But by 4:30 p.m. people packed up and filed out quickly. By 5 p.m. only a few dozen picketers remained and the area was significantly quieter.<\/p>\n Despite it being short, Larry Warner, one of the event\u2019s organizers, said the vibe of Oceanside\u2019s event was less that of a protest and more to hang out with each other and advocate for residents\u2019 neighbors.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a real sweet spirit in Oceanside and if people come out, it\u2019s sort of like family. Like some of these people I\u2019ve seen over the last year-and-a-half coming out, they don\u2019t necessarily know the person next to them, but they spend the next hour-and-a-half talking and just enjoying one another,\u201d Warner said.<\/p>\n National \u201cNo Kings\u201d organizers said their Instagram account was taken down around 1:30 p.m. Saturday without explanation. In an announcement, they claimed the company, its chief executive and White House officials were working to suppress them.<\/p>\n \u201cTo Mark Zuckerberg, Meta and the Trump regime: We see how afraid you are of losing power. Silencing us won\u2019t stop what\u2019s coming. Change is coming for all of you,\u201d organizers<\/a> said.<\/p>\n At about the same time, Trump referred to himself as \u201cking\u201d during a campaign rally<\/a> in Kentucky, where he was campaigning for votes in the reliably Republican state.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m the king of the wall,\u201d Trump told the crowd in Highland Heights, a Cincinnati, Ohio, suburb. \u201cBy the way, Mexico did pay for that wall. I charged them tariffs and I charged them costs like they\u2019ve never paid in history.\u201d<\/p>\n The early-vote message appears to be hitting home.<\/p>\n![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/sut-l-no-kings-003.jpg\")
People hold up signs during a No Kings Rally at the intersection of Camino Ruiz and Mira Mesa Boulevard in Mira Mesa on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Kristian Carreon \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Kenneth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SUT-L-NO-KINGS-mm-004.jpg\")
Kenneth Perry, of Escondido, waves a flag near the street during a No Kings protest at Balboa Park on Saturday. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n