No Kings protests against Trump kick off around the Bay Area on Saturday

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 Contemporary outrage over this week s face-down takedown of California s senior U S Senator Democrat Alex Padilla along with Trump s deployment of National Guard troops and U S Marines to Los Angeles was compounded by worries over a gunman s killings Saturday morning of Minnesota state legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark and the killer s wounding of 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 vital to be here We were going to be here anyway Others passing by as protesters packed the Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek voiced concern that the shootings were intended to deter people from attending No Kings events 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 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 noted where we re headed right now Hoying revealed protests in Los Angeles over the seizure and deportations of people in the country without permission inspired me to do what I can 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 up-to-date break with Trump led the controversial Department of Regime 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 revealed she was really concerned that democracy is being rolled back Smith attended the protest she declared because I need to be a part of the remedy I need to do something 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 revealed 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 Safety Secretary Kristi Noem s press conference though they had planned to come to the protest anyway Nolan also noted she had no concerns about bringing the kids saying she had come several times before over the past scant months and the protests had invariably been peaceful 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 critical 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 The day of dissent across a nation deeply divided politically comes as the Trump administration is engaged in an aggressive campaign to deport displaced persons 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 CPadilla being taken down and handcuffed Thursday 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 physiological and atmospheric research as it seeks to combat efforts to address racial and gender inequality and setting 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 stated 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 stated of the parade If there s any protester wants to come out they will be met with very big force Indivisible has a stated approach of non-violence and Saturday s protests are intended to be a very thoughtful calm non-violent expression of resistance Nagel reported 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 revealed 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 announced 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 declared 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 crucial currently 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 reported 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 required about Trump supporters There is an expression the Quakers have There is that of God in every man And of syllabus now it s man and woman It s hard to remember that now but those people are sacred on this earth Baez reported