Massive ‘No Kings’ Crowds Return to Bay Area Streets, Rebuking Trump

Updated 4 p.m., Saturday

Huge crowds took to the streets for dozens of protests across the Bay Area on Saturday, joining nationwide “No Kings” rallies against President Donald Trump.

In Oakland, a colorful crowd gathered at Wilma Chan Park and marched through downtown, many in whimsical costumes like raccoon suits or frog masks, or carried inflated caricatures of President Trump.

Jon Paul Pierce wore a chicken suit. “We’re in a situation where we could easily lose the democracy that we enjoy,” Pierce said, “And I’m a veteran. I stand for this country. I stand for the Constitution, and I can’t see this administration getting away with how they’re trampling all over it and trampling over our rights.”

The crowd marched to Lake Merritt, where drummers and dancers performed, and elected officials and union leaders fired up the crowd, which organizers said topped 10,000 people.

“We refuse to bow down to a rogue administration,” Rep. Lateefah Simon said. “We are the power. They want us to stand down and we refuse.”

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee celebrated the peaceful protest as a sign of strength against the Trump administration.

“Taking away people’s health care, taking away their jobs, firing people … when you look at what their agenda is, I know their playbook very well, and this is part of their agenda to create chaos, but we’re a peaceful city and we’re going to make sure that that chaos is not coming as a result of him trying to occupy and militarize this city.”

In San Francisco, thousands more marched up Market Street, from the waterfront to the Civic Center, carrying signs supporting immigrants and denouncing fascism and the Trump administration’s cuts to social services.

“We’re very concerned about the health care cuts, millions of people being thrown off of health care,” said Sandy Reding, vice president of National Nurses United, one of the organizations that sponsored the event. “It’s also ICE … we’re also protesting against the violent kidnappings of people.”

At Ocean Beach, protesters formed a human banner that read “No Kings / Yes on 50,” in support of Proposition 50, which would temporarily redraw California’s congressional maps in favor of Democrats.

Smaller protests took place around the Bay, from San Mateo to Sonoma to San Pablo, where people lined both sides of 23rd Street donning yellow bandanas, in solidarity with other No Kings rally-goers across the country.

“I’m a citizen, and I feel like it’s my responsibility to defend my people,” said Richmond resident Andrea Ulloa, who is Latina and said she showed up to support immigrants. “[I have] family members that are really trying hard to get their documents … [I’m here] on behalf of them.”

The Bay Area protests come after Trump this week appeared to renew his threat to send National Guard troops to San Francisco, something he’s done in multiple American cities after his initial deployment of troops to Los Angeles over the summer.

“If they came here, all hell would break loose,” said San Francisco resident Howard Munson, adding that San Franciscans would not tolerate it. “It would fight back like crazy. … I don’t know if it would get as bad as Portland, but there’s a strong element of distaste for Trump and for this idea of bringing in troops into this city.”

Former Supervisor Aaron Peskin said at the rally in San Francisco on Saturday that American cities should not be turned into a police state.

“I know that San Francisco has long taken care of our people without violence, and we are going to resist.”

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff told The New York Times last week that he supported the idea of bringing guard troops to San Francisco, prompting an avalanche of pushback from local and state officials.

Among the most forceful was San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who said she would “not hesitate” to prosecute federal law enforcement who break the law.

“If you come to San Francisco and illegally harass our residents, use excessive force or cross any other boundaries that the law [prescribes], I will not hesitate to do my job and hold you accountable just like I do other violators of the law every single day,” Jenkins wrote on X.

Lurie, who’s been reluctant to call out Trump, was more muted, pointing to dropping crime in San Francisco and stressing on Sunday that he trusts the city’s police to handle crime.

Benioff walked back his comments in a post on social media platform X on Friday, the day after his company’s annual Dreamforce conference wrapped up.

“My earlier comment came from an abundance of caution around the event, and I sincerely apologize for the concern it caused,” he wrote.

Before the protests in San Francisco, local officials stepped up security measures in anticipation of the large crowds.

In a press conference on Friday, San Francisco city officials said they would be closely monitoring 911 call volume, EMS availability and police and fire resources.

“We will always, always protect the right to free speech and peaceful protests … But I also wanna be very clear,” Lurie said. “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.”

Saturday’s demonstrations marked the second round of nationwide No Kings protests.

The first wave of rallies on June 14, initially organized to protest against a military parade thrown for Trump’s birthday, drew millions across the country, according to organizers.

During the June protests in the Bay Area, massive crowds filled city blocks in San Francisco, with people forming a giant “No King!” human banner on the city’s Ocean Beach. In Oakland, demonstrators inflated a large chicken balloon with Trump’s face on it. And in San José, protesters draped themselves in Mexican flags, and dressed up as battered and chained versions of Lady Liberty.

Michele Brynjulson, an organizer with Tri-Valley Indivisible, said she’s only seen interest grow since then, pointing to immigration enforcement in her East Bay community and concerns over what she called Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric.

“I think that people are hearing a lot of messages that can be called authoritarian and people are getting very worried about their own personal safety,” Brynjulson said.

Organizers estimate more than 300 rallies will take place across California on Saturday, with dozens in the Bay Area and over 2,600 across the country.

KQED’s Sarah Hotchkiss, Amanda Hernandez, Rachael Vasquez, Brian Krans and Katherine Monahan contributed to this report.