Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Southern California on Saturday for \u201cNo Kings\u201d demonstrations against President Trump, portraying the commander in chief as an aspiring monarch as he continues to engage in what critics argue is government overreach. <\/p>\n
In Grand Park, protesters gathered under the shade of a 20-foot inflatable of Trump in a diaper as a band belted out an Epstein files-themed parody of Johnny Cash\u2019s \u201cFolsom Prison Blues.\u201d Protesters draped in LGBTQ+, Mexican and American flags held signs that read \u201cLiberty,\u201d \u201cNo Kings\u201d and \u201cVeto the Cheeto.\u201d <\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re here to fight fascism, and we\u2019re not afraid,\u201d said 25-year-old Jess Sanchez, who has had family members targeted in recent immigration raids. \u201cThis is our city and our country.\u201d<\/p>\n
The gathering in Grand Park was just one of thousands that unfolded across the country on Saturday as part of a nationwide effort<\/a> to oppose not only the president but his administration\u2019s policies on immigration, education, healthcare and environmental protections. <\/p>\n More than 2,700 \u201cNo Kings\u201d demonstrations were scheduled across the country, roughly 600 more events than in June. Demonstrations in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Boston drew massive crowds. <\/p>\n In June, roughly 5 million demonstrators rallied across the nation for the first \u201cNo Kings\u201d protests as the Trump administration\u2019s agenda began coming into focus. At that time, the Department of Homeland Security had begun carrying out large-scale immigration raids across Southern California, and Trump deployed military troops to Los Angeles in response to mass protests. <\/p>\n Since then, many Americans believe that Trump\u2019s actions \u2014 doubling down on immigration raids in major cities, deploying National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., and embarking on an aggressive campaign against political opponents \u2014 have only become more severe. <\/p>\n Trump pushed back against the underlying premise of the protests in an interview with Fox<\/a> News on Friday. \u201cThey\u2019re referring to me as a king,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not a king.\u201d<\/p>\n Pedro Sanchez, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico more than 50 years ago, said the protest was an expression of the 1st Amendment, which he said the administration has continued to challenge. <\/p>\n He pointed to last month\u2019s temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s ABC broadcast after the talk show host made remarks criticizing Republicans following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at what happened to Kimmel \u2014 if that could happen to him, it can happen to any of us,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cWe want our rights back; we can\u2019t take this anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Some protesters tried to bring some levity to the seriousness of the day. <\/p>\n A cohort of people in inflatable costumes \u2014 dinosaurs, chickens and sharks \u2014 strolled through the crowd, an adoption of a recent strategy undertaken by protesters in Oregon meant to ease tensions and signal nonviolence. <\/p>\n But for Matt Faw, a documentary filmmaker, his Uncle Sam costume was intended to make a point. The costume was his way of criticizing what he said was the Trump administration\u2019s misappropriation of American symbols. <\/p>\n \u201cThe symbols of America have been stolen by people who want to insist that America means white, Christian patriarchal power,\u201d Faw said. \u201cAs opposed to what I see \u2026 which is groups that are very different from each other learning to get along and form a better union together.\u201d<\/p>\n Faw said he generally attends such protests as an observer with his camera in hand. But this time, fear and fury drove him to get more involved. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m afraid that it\u2019s happening so fast that we won\u2019t be able to get the country back that I grew up in,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n California Gov. Gavin Newsom urged protesters to demonstrate peacefully, saying in a statement on X that \u201cour strength is in our unity.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe values Americans cherish are under assault by [Donald Trump],\u201d he said. \u201cTHIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and California will keep peacefully pushing back against the Trump Administration\u2019s authoritarian takeover.\u201d <\/p>\n In Long Beach, thousands of protesters packed the bluff along Ocean Boulevard, cheering amid a chorus of honking horns. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) posed for a photograph with another attendee holding a sign that read: \u201cFascists have small dictators.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cNO KINGS in Long Beach,\u201d he wrote on X. \u201cSo proud of our city for turning out and opposing Trump.\u201d <\/p>\n In San Diego, police said more than 25,000 people showed up to rallies across the city. There were no arrests, officials said. <\/p>\n In an attempt to broaden the scope of \u201cNo Kings,\u201d organizers appealed to Americans upset over the rising cost of living, gutting of environmental protections, sweeping overhauls of federal agencies, and the government shutdown over looming healthcare cuts. <\/p>\n Organizers say the goal of \u201cNo Kings\u201d goes beyond just getting Americans out on the streets by aiming to connect people who are upset and frustrated with the Trump administration to local organizing groups.<\/p>\n Podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen roused the crowd at Grand Park, pointing to the scope of the \u201cNo Kings\u201d protests nationwide.<\/p>\n \u201cMillions of people taking to the streets right now destroys the optics of Donald Trump having total control of this country,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cWe are here because we love America. We are here because this is a country worth fighting for.\u201d<\/p>\n By 3 p.m., the downtown Los Angeles crowd of thousands had mobilized down 1st Street and clogged the avenue. Protesters chanted and waved signs and flags.<\/p>\n Some made calls for the government to observe the Constitution, such as one that cited the 5th Amendment on due process. Others, however, were written in more plain language. \u201cICE sucks,\u201c one read.<\/p>\n Rachel Edler of Los Angeles and her young son, Hardy, were among those in downtown Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Edler said she brought her child to the protest to answer questions he had about the administration\u2019s actions in Los Angeles. \u201cHe wanted to know why people had voted for [Trump] in the first place and I came here to help answer that question and help him understand why people were upset.\u201d<\/p>\n By the late afternoon, a group of about 100 to 200 protesters came face to face with LAPD officers who were tasked with protecting the Metropolitan Detention Center, according to an officer on the scene.<\/p>\n With megaphones and signs in hand, the protesters remained peaceful. \u201cA lot of the people were trying to remain nonviolent,\u201c Will Clarke of Los Angeles said.<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s rallies took place amid a big disruption to one of Southern California\u2019s major freeways. <\/p>\n The state announced Saturday morning that it would close a 17-mile stretch<\/a> of Interstate 5 for several hours after military officials confirmed that live-fire artillery rounds would be shot over the freeway during a Marine Corps event at Camp Pendleton. <\/p>\n