Thousands gather for ‘No Kings’ protests across Southern California

Thousands of protesters across Southern California took to the streets Saturday for “No Kings” demonstrations to voice their disapproval of President Trump as part of a nationwide effort to push back against what they believe is government overreach.

In June, millions of demonstrators rallied across the nation for the first “No Kings” protests as the Trump administration’s 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.

Since then, many Americans believe that Trump’s actions — 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 — have only become more severe.

In Downtown Los Angeles hundreds had started to gather around a group of Native American dancers midday as protests across the West Coast began to take shape. Protesters at Grand Park 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’s “Folsom Prison Blues.”

“We’re here to fight fascism, and we’re not afraid,” said 25-year-old Jess Sanchez, who has had family members targeted in recent immigration raids. “This is our city and our country.”

Trump pushed back against the underlying premise of the protest in an interview with Fox News on Friday. “They’re referring to me as a king,” he said. “I’m not a king.”

Los Angeles protesters held signs criticizing Trump both for his political stances and his personal character. Some were draped in LGBTQ+, Mexican and American flags.

A cohort of people in inflatable costumes—dinosaurs, chickens and sharks— strolled through the crowd, an adoption of a recent strategy undertaken by protesters in Oregon meant to ease tensions and signal nonviolence.

Matt Faw, a documentary filmmaker, showed up at the demonstration in Grand Park in an Uncle Sam costume. It was his way of criticizing what he said was the Trump administration’s perversion of American symbols.

“The symbols of America have been stolen by people who want to insist that America means white, Christian patriarchal power,” Faw said. “As opposed to what I see … which is groups that are very different from each other learning to get along and form a better union together.”

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 involved.

“I’m afraid that it’s happening so fast that we won’t be able to get the country back that I grew up in,” he added.

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.

He pointed to last month’s temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel after the talk show host made remarks following the death of Republican activist Charlie Kirk as a key example.

“Look at what happened to Kimmel — if that could happen to him, it can happen to any of us,” Sanchez said. “We want our rights back; we can’t take this anymore.”

In Long Beach, thousands of protesters packed the bluffs along Ocean Boulevard holding signs that read “No Kings” and “Veto The Cheeto.” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) posed for a photograph with another attendee holding a sign that read “Fascists have small dictators.”

“NO KINGS in Long Beach,” he wrote on X. “So proud of our city for turning out and opposing Trump.”

More than 2,700 “No Kings” demonstrations are scheduled across the country, roughly 600 more events than in June, in which more than 5 million people participated. Demonstrations in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Boston drew massive crowds.

In an attempt to broaden the scope of “No Kings,” organizers are appealing 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.

In Orange County, demonstrators arrived at Centennial Park in Santa Ana on Saturday afternoon to protest not only Trump’s immigration actions, but also his policies on healthcare, environmental protections and education.

“We the People have had enough of the illegal actions being carried out by this sham administration,” Amy Stevens, one of the Orange County demonstration’s organizers, said in a statement. “Change starts from the bottom up.”

Organizers say the goal of “No Kings” goes beyond just getting Americans out on the streets, hoping to connect people who are upset and frustrated with the Trump administration to local organizing groups.

“Getting involved in those groups, making those face to face connections and joining them will have a much larger impact over the next few days, the next few weeks, next few months, the next few years, than just one day of protest,” said Hunter Dunn, a spokesman for 50501, one of the “No Kings” coalition’s core organizing partners.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom urged protesters to demonstrate peacefully saying in a statement on X that “our strength is in our unity.”

“The values Americans cherish are under assault by [Donald Trump],” he said. “THIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and California will keep peacefully pushing back against the Trump Administration’s authoritarian takeover.”

Saturday’s rallies are happening amid a major disruption to one of Southern California’s major freeways.

The state announced Saturday morning that it would close a 17-mile stretch of Interstate 5 for several hours after military officials confirmed that live-fire artillery rounds will be shot over the freeway during a Marine Corps event at Camp Pendleton.

The unprecedented closure is expected to cause massive gridlock, but it is not clear what impact, if any, it will have on the day’s demonstrations.

Staff writers Jenny Jarvie and Nathan Solis contributed to this report.