No Kings protests against Trump kick off around Bay Area, fueled by outrage over senator’s takedown and concerns over shootings of Democrats

Bay Area residents opposed to the administration of President Donald Trump began pouring into parks and other sites as No Kings rallies kicked off part of a nationwide day of defiance Latest outrage over this week s takedown by Secret Facility agents of California s senior U S Senator Democrat Alex Padilla along with Trump s deployment of National Guard troops and U S Marines in Los Angeles was compounded by worries after a gunman shot and killed Minnesota state legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark on Saturday and wounded another Minnesota lawmaker and his wife We heard it on the news this morning Jake Smith of Napa who joined his girlfriend from Pittsburgh at the No Kings protest in Walnut Creek on Saturday We thought it was a way to sow fear in people I feel it s still central to be here We were going to be here anyway Others passing by the packed the Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek voiced concern that the shootings were intended to deter people from attending No Kings events Organizers estimated people were in attendance based on drone imagery In downtown San Jose at St James Park hundreds of families with children mingled with older protesters in the sunny noon hour specific waving multicolored signs lampooning Donald Trump and calling for unity and to reject kings Chaz Donovan of San Jose commented he was out to encouragement his friends and family especially those who were in the country without permission I ve got friends and family who are afraid to protest Donovan mentioned So I m out doing it for them Organizers speaking to the crowd in San Jose urged the crowd not to incite or respond to violence Elijah Hoying of San Jose came with his mother to his first protest out of concern for immigration issues and the teenager disclosed where we re headed right now Hoying stated protests in Los Angeles over the seizure and deportations of people in the country without permission inspired me to do what I can San Jose resident Susan Hayase announced she came out because she sees parallels between the Japanese internment camps of WWII and the administration s immigration crackdown We are an immigrant public Hayase revealed We were slandered we were denied due process She and her organization San Jose Nikkei Resisters are fighting to repeal the Alien Enemies Act which the Trump administration has cited to justify deportation of immigrants This country has to learn that everyone deserves due process Hayase stated A minute of silence was held at near the start of the San Jose event for the Minnesota shooting casualties while in Walnut Creek East Bay Democratic Rep Mark DeSaulnier initiated a similar call for a moment of quiet out of respect for those people who lost their lives to meaningless violence Protests large and small were set for Saturday throughout the Bay Area from banner-hangings on overpasses to major gatherings in San Jose s St James Park and in Oakland s Wilma Chan Park where attendees were streaming in around noon One event takes aim at Tesla CEO Elon Musk who until a latest break with Trump led the controversial Department of Cabinet Efficiency Protest organizers hope to create a seven-mile human chain down El Camino Real between Tesla dealerships in Palo Alto and Sunnyvale At the Oakland event retired San Leandro resident Carla Dillard Smith declared she was really concerned that democracy is being rolled back Smith attended the protest she stated because I need to be a part of the key I need to do something Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee stood on stage in front of a sign-waving crowd saying We are going to protect our democracy We are not going to allow this country our country to devolve into an autocracy She also called on attendees to circle the wagons and make sure that our immigrant area knows that we stand with them In Walnut Creek - year-old Rory Nolan of Pleasant Hill made her own cardboard sign a crown with a red line across it to join her mother her -year-old brother and her grandparents from Lafayette at the protest We don t want this terrible person leading this country the rising th grader mentioned He s not doing what people thought he would do He s making it worse The girl s grandmother Kathy Nolan of Lafayette and other family members expressed particular outage over the manhandling of Padilla at U S Department of Homeland Guard Secretary Kristi Noem s press conference though they had planned to come to the protest anyway Nolan also mentioned she had no concerns about bringing the kids saying she had come several times before over the past limited months and the protests had dependably been peaceful Passing motorists honked and waved as Tej Tuladhar a graphic design learner at Cal State East Bay and his wife Abbey Watson a nurse stood in the median of Mt Diablo Boulevard across the street from posh jewelry store Tiffany Co waving the flags of Palestine and Mexico Watson announced she was alarmed by the aggressive actions of U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement against newcomers and the Marines and just fascism She added that the Minnesota attacks sent chills In Santa Cruz as a No Kings protest by thousands of people spilled onto Ocean Street a main way to the beach the driver of a gray Nissan Titan pickup truck tried to weave through the crowd and struck a young man then sped off disclosed Mark Woodward a Santa Cruz photojournalist who saw the happening The young man hit on the hip by the truck s fender was knocked down but hurriedly popped up and informed bystanders he was uninjured Woodward explained Woodward gave photos of the driver a man with a salt-and-pepper goatee and mustache with twirled ends and the rear of the truck with an Oregon license plate clearly visible to a nearby Santa Cruz policeman he stated The protests are organized by Indivisible an organization founded in after Trump was elected for his first term Related Articles Opinion The impact of an ICE raid on one California neighborhood Joan Baez to join Bay Area No Kings protests against Trump Letters Civil disobedience is as vital at present as ever Letters South Bay ICE raids are targeting hard-working people Photos Preparations for Trump s military parade marking the th anniversary of the US Army The day of dissent across a nation deeply divided politically comes as the Trump administration is engaged in an aggressive campaign to deport settlers and immigrants sparking widespread protests including in Los Angeles The president s takeover and deployment of California s National Guard to Los Angeles and his mobilization of U S Marines to that city have ratcheted up tensions Videos taken Thursday showing Padilla being taken down and handcuffed by Secret Facility agents during a news conference held by Homeland Protection Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday in Los Angeles were likely to boost interest in Saturday s No Kings protests political analysts explained The Trump administration has infuriated Democrats by slashing federal staff and programs as well as funding for scientific biological and atmospheric research as it seeks to combat efforts to address racial and gender inequality and atmosphere change Trump in a February social media post likened himself to a king over his administration s attack on fees for entering New York City by car On Thursday he spoke about the No Kings events I don t feel like a king Trump declared at the White House I have to go through hell to get stuff approved No Kings organizers scheduled the nationwide day of defiance for the same day as Trump s million military parade in Washington D C celebrating the th anniversary of the U S Army which coincides with his birthday Trump at the White House on Thursday declared of the parade If there s any protester wants to come out they will be met with very big force Indivisible has a stated agenda of non-violence and Saturday s protests are intended to be a very thoughtful calm non-violent expression of resistance Nagel stated Iconic folk singer and political activist Joan Baez was set to appear at Rinconada Park in Palo Alto on Saturday afternoon along with South Bay and Peninsula Democratic Congressman Sam Liccardo and others In the s and the s we still had laws that somebody paid attention to Baez of Woodside mentioned by phone this week We had a Constitution that people were really attentive to That s all crumbling now It s a pretty big leap downhill for a country that really has been a country that people look up to rightfully or wrongfully Nancy Nagel a leader of Indivisible s mid-Peninsula chapter reported the No Kings protests were intended to demonstrate that citizens are not going to go quietly into the night while Trump is executing this authoritarian takeover of our entire country I don t feel like a king Trump revealed at the White House I have to go through hell to get stuff approved Related Articles Opinion The impact of an ICE raid on one California neighborhood Joan Baez to join Bay Area No Kings protests against Trump Letters Civil disobedience is as significant in the present day as ever Letters South Bay ICE raids are targeting hard-working people Photos Preparations for Trump s military parade marking the th anniversary of the US Army Baez mentioned she remains committed to the non-violence that has guided her activism since high school Raised Quaker she offers an aphorism from that pacifist religion when questioned about Trump supporters There is an expression the Quakers have There is that of God in every man And of program now it s man and woman It s hard to remember that now but those people are sacred on this earth Baez explained