“No Kings” protests large and small, are planned across the Bay Area’s nine counties on Saturday.
Organizers said the Trump administration’s threats to immigrants’ rights, health care coverage and the First Amendment are just some of the issues galvanizing protesters.
They expect larger crowds — and more gatherings — than the first “No Kings” event on June 14.
Nationally, more than 2,500 protests are expected to take place on Saturday.
“There is, I think, an increasing awareness by the general public that the Trump atrocities are not slowing down, they’re not going away,” IdaRose Sylvester, a Silicon Valley organizer and founder of Together We Will, told KQED. She will join activists across the South Bay at protests taking place at 16 intersections along eight miles of El Camino Real.
While the protests are framed as a broad rejection of President Donald Trump’s presidency, organizers cited the ramp-up of immigration enforcement, cuts to essential services like nutrition assistance and health care.
“We are very concerned with immigration status. We’re concerned with the billionaires that seem to think, along with Trump, that they can run this country. We’re concerned with working families with collective bargaining rights for unions,” said Diane McClure, vice president of National Nurses United, the largest union representing registered nurses.
Many in the Bay Area are also responding to Trump’s recent threats to send National Guard Troops to San Francisco. The concern followed comments Trump made at the White House in an Oct. 15 meeting with FBI Director Kash Patel.
Trump called San Francisco “a mess” and said he is encouraging his administration to consider the city for future federal law enforcement interventions.
“Seeing what’s happening in Chicago, what’s happened in LA, the blowing up of ships in Venezuela — everything is just sending us lots and lots of people to attend,” said Patty Hoyt, one of the organizers of the Marin County “No Kings” rally.
Alongside the slogan “No Kings,” many of the Bay Area protests will be promoting a “Yes on Prop. 50” message. The measure seeks to redraw current congressional maps to favor Democrats in hopes of winning back the House of Representatives.
Protests are planned across the Bay.
In San Francisco
Protest attendees will start gathering at Sue Bierman Park at 1:30 p.m. The march will begin at 2 p.m., moving down Market Street toward Civic Center Plaza. The rally will take place at the Civic Center Plaza from 3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.
In the Tri-Valley area
Residents are gathering in Pleasanton from 1:30 p.m.–3 p.m. at the park at Hopyard Road and Valley Avenue.
In the North Bay
Some protesters will meet at the Marin Center Exhibit Hall lot at 10:30 a.m. in San Rafael. In Santa Rosa, two marches sponsored by Indivisible Sonoma County will start from Santa Rosa Junior College at 9 a.m. and from Julliard Park at 10 a.m. Both will end at Doyle Park at 11 a.m., where organizers and state Sen. Mark McGuire, D-Sonoma, will speak about climate change and immigrants’ rights.
In the South Bay
Residents will gather at 16 different intersections on El Camino Real, from Sunnyvale to Palo Alto.
In the East Bay
Protesters will march from Wilma Chan Park to the Lake Merritt Amphitheater at noon in Oakland. In Berkeley, demonstrators will cross the University Avenue Bridge at 1 p.m. and display signs to passing traffic.
San Francisco city officials said Friday they expected the protest to be largely peaceful, like the June event. Still, the march is anticipated to bring thousands onto Market Street, the city’s main artery, where a 69-year-old marcher was run over by a Tesla during the last “No Kings” protest.
Ahead of the weekend protest, the city’s Department of Emergency Management said it will closely monitor 911 call volume, EMS availability and police and fire resources. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has coordinated transit reroutes throughout the city, which will impact multiple lines.
San Francisco Police Department Deputy Chief Derrick Lew said at a Friday press conference that all public safety departments “will be fully staffed and ready for anything that may occur.”
Public officials encouraged protesters to exercise their right to protest — peacefully.
“We will always, always protect the right to free speech and peaceful protests … But I also wanna be very clear,” said San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie. “We will not tolerate any violent or destructive behavior, whether it’s directed at an attendee or one of our local businesses or one of our members of law enforcement. If you commit an act of violence, you will be arrested.”
Organizers said they are coordinating with city officials to keep the protests peaceful — even family-friendly. In Pleasanton, the “No Kings” event will feature an art-making station, a playlist of songs of dissent and opportunities for people to show off their homemade protest signs. Costumes are encouraged.
Michele Brynjulson, an organizer and member of Indivisible Tri-Valley, formed after the 2024 election, said she’s seen the “No Kings” movement grow over the past year, both nationally and locally.
“A lot of us protested in the ’60s, a lot of us are retired,” she said. “But outreach to the local high schools and community colleges in the area has gotten the young people involved.”
Looking at the map of Saturday’s events, even in just the East Bay, she said, “It seems like we have about double the amount of protest rallies that we had before.”
Hoyt said Marin County drew about 6,000 people in June and expects even more this weekend.
“I have to thank the right wing for calling it a ‘hate America rally,’ because we’re just getting more and more people signing up to attend,” Hoyt said, referring to comments by House Speaker Mike Johnson. “Really, it’s nothing about hating America.”
KQED’s Amanda Hernandez and Elize Manoukian contributed to this report.
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