For the third time this year, thousands of protesters in downtown San Antonio denounced President Donald Trump’s administration Saturday evening – one of more than 3,000 coordinated “No Kings Day” demonstrations across the country.
Like earlier marches in June and October, demonstrators condemned Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants and other policies they see as authoritarian. But this time, the demonstration touched on a new subject: the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran.
“No boots on the ground, no bombs in the air! U.S. out of everywhere!” demonstrators chanted.
The crowd gathered at Travis Park just after 4 p.m., some wielding signs that read “No crown for this clown,” “Dump Trump,” and “Democracy not dictatorship.” Some showed up in Statue of Liberty costumes or blow-up dinosaur suits. Some demonstrators gathered near a stage and sang, chanted and listened to speakers. Others sat along the park’s edges under a cool, overcast sky.
At 5 p.m., the crowd set off on a nearly two-mile march through downtown. People played the drums, rang cowbells and continued chanting.
Thousands of protesters gathered downtown Saturday for San Antonio’s third “No Kings” protest. The protest was one of more than 3,000 coordinated in a nationwide “No Kings Day” demonstration that denounced President Donald Trump’s administration and his crackdown on immigration and war against Iran. (Ethan E. Rocke/Contributor)
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John Q. Pardini, 78, stood near the stage with a large cardboard sign that said “Peace” mounted on PVC pipes. He made the sign in 2012 for San Antonio’s Martin Luther King Jr. March, which he attends every year. Saturday marked his first “No Kings” demonstration.
The West Side resident, who made a career as a rigger at circuses, said he worries that the war against Iran could easily escalate.
“It’s humanity. The gentleman in the White House is a threat to humanity, not just the country,” he said. “His desire is to be an emperor. Forget the ‘king’ thing. The part that scares me is, if you look at science fiction, what do emperors do when they have unlimited power? They destroy civilization.”
Protesters first rallied across the country for a “No Kings” day in June and then again in October. In San Antonio, both protests were peaceful – there were no arrests or clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement.
For the June protest, Gov. Greg Abbott deployed thousands of National Guard troops and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to cities across the state. There were National Guard troops and DPS officers at the Alamo, but they did not confront protesters.
San Antonio police blocked streets as the march moved through downtown on Saturday, and demonstrators’ interactions with law enforcement were largely amicable. At one corner on St. Mary’s Street, a man saluted two officers in thanks. Near the Alamo, a woman flashed a peace sign to a line of about 20 state troopers and told them, “Thank you.”
Much of the protest focused on the Trump administration’s intense immigration crackdown, which has deported hundreds of thousand of people and resulted in the shooting of three U.S. citizens by immigration agents, including a man from San Antonio.
At a parking garage on Commerce Street, a white banner reading “Migra out of S.A.” was unfurled over a three stories.
Alex Svehla, a lead organizer for San Antonio 50501, which has helped put together the last three marches, said turnout has been steady for each event.
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“If you’re here and you get to experience it, and you see how the line just continues on and on, it’s just such a powerful feeling to see that in action,” he said.
Thousands of rallies took place across the U.S. Saturday, including all over the San Antonio area. People rallied in Schertz, New Braunfels, Seguin Boerne, San Marcos and Hondo.
As the crowd headed north on Navarro Street to start the march, Rachel Garza sat in her gray Subaru Outback. She wore a pink cap as droves of marchers streamed by.
The 64-year-old hadn’t planned to get caught in the middle of the march, but she was fine with it. Garza drives around downtown San Antonio most days blasting her “protest playlist” on YouTube, her windows scrawled with profanity-laced messages aimed at Trump.
“We’re in a war. I think that makes it even more our responsibility to be out here, let other people know it’s not right,” she said.
Marchers cheered as they passed her car. One man leaned in through the passenger’s side window for a fist bump.
“Right on, you guys are the real heroes!” she shouted back.
This article originally published at ‘It’s humanity’: Thousands rally against Trump in San Antonio’s third ‘No Kings’ march.