‘No Kings’ protests in Palo Alto, Mountain View and greater Bay Area draw thousands

PALO ALTO AND MOUNTAIN VIEW— Thousands rallied along major intersections of El Camino Real on Oct. 18, protesting the Trump administration in a second wave of nationwide “No Kings” demonstrations.

Nearly seven million people across the country took to the streets in over 2,700 protests, making the event the largest single-day protest in U.S. history, according to national organizers. The first No Kings Day, a national day-of-action that countered a military parade through Washington D.C. on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, drew five million protesters on June 14.

For Palo Alto resident Kathleen McGill, 62, it was impossible to stay home.

“I really am concerned that there aren’t going to be elections in 2026,” McGill said. She cited immigrant rights as another concern, along with the capitulation of news outlets, businesses and educational institutions to the Trump administration’s demands.

Spreading joy was a big theme in Saturday’s protests — complete with live music, dancing and inflatable costumes. At the intersection of Embarcadero Road and El Camino Real, Mountain View resident Daniel Sturman, 30, was even handing out free snow cones.

“I love crushing ICE, and I love eating snow cones,” Sturman said. “I figured I could combine two of my passions.”

For Sturman, protests like this one are about creating a “fun and friendly environment” where individuals can voice their opinions with like-minded people.

“My hope is that by bringing a little bit of extra fun and a little bit of extra joy to the event today, that I help to perpetuate the beautiful tone of free speech, perpetuate free speech in the country, and send a message that I don’t stand with the current federal administration,” Sturman said.

Over in Mountain View, honking cars zoomed past a scene of demonstrators waving homemade signs, American flags, LGBTQ+ pride banners and frog stuffed animals at the Castro Street intersection. From inside an inflatable unicorn costume, Reverend Julie Nelson danced and waved at passing cars. Around the corner, a trio of musicians strummed a salsa tune as a person in an inflatable hippo costume danced.

Nelson, who serves at Christ Episcopal Church Los Altos, said she was inspired by protesters in Portland who have started a trend of protesting in frog and other animal costumes. 

“ It reminds us that we are all human and we all need to laugh and we all need to smile even when things are really, really hard,” Nelson said. 

IdaRose Sylvester, who helped organize a series of No Kings rallies at 16 major intersections along El Camino Real from Sunnyvale to Palo Alto, emphasized that the rallies were action-oriented and aimed to get people of all ages into activism.

Corkie Freeman of Palo Alto parked her walker at the intersection of Castro Street and El Camino Real in Mountain View and waved a sign reading “I’m 98 years old and I’ve never seen it this bad.”

“ I was a teenager during World War II and my husband served in World War II and it’s got even worse now,” Freeman said. “Our democracy is at risk.”

Protesters who gathered at Embarcadero Road and El Camino Real in Palo Alto marched to Rinconada Cultural Park for a “Democracy Fair,” where over 40 local advocacy groups — with focuses ranging from immigrant rights to LGBTQ+ rights to voting initiatives — engaged participants with action steps for continuing the movement beyond the protest. Workshops on immigration and youth organizing took place at the nearby Lucie Stern Center.

U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo, who attended and spoke at the Democracy Fair, said protest events like this one continue to be important because they reassure people that they are not alone in their concerns. 

“ There’s a moment when it’s so imperative that Americans stand up against everything we’re facing together. I think as we see more people standing up, it gives courage to others,” Liccardo told the Peninsula Press. “ People get more engaged and they start volunteering.”

Many protesters and advocacy groups carried signs in support of Proposition 50, the 2025 ballot measure that would temporarily redistrict the state of California to produce additional Democratic Congressional seats, counteracting gerrymandering efforts in Texas to produce more Republican ones.

Protesters told the Peninsula Press they viewed Prop 50 as a way to combat what they see as rising authoritarianism under the Trump administration.

“I believe quite strongly we need to vote yes on Prop 50,” Sturman said. “I think that the way that the Trump administration is kind of manipulating the Executive Branch is really, really insidious, and that we’re at a point where we have to begin fighting fire with fire.”

Around 3:30 p.m., a group of about 10 counter-protesters waving American flags joined the Democracy Fair. Max Hsia, a counter-protester who carried a pro-Trump flag reading “Make America Greater Than Ever Before,” described the group as a small, organized group of  conservative patriots who wanted to represent the minority vote in California.  

“ We are here to say that there is no king in America. It’s a duly elected president,” Hsia said. “Trump won the popular vote, the electoral college, all seven swing states, 86% of all counties. He is our president.”

During a speech by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell, the counter-protesters walked up the center aisle of the seated audience chanting “still no king” over a megaphone. A few musicians stepped on to the stage and, alongside Cordell, led the crowd in singing the freedom song “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around” as the counter-protesters exited the crowd surrounded by volunteer safety monitors in yellow vests.

The El Camino Real rallies and the Democracy Fair were two of many Bay Area events in this round of protests. In San Francisco, an estimated 50,000 marched from Sue Bierman Park to Civic Center Plaza, shutting down a section of Market Street. Many protesters rallied around ICE and immigration issues and healthcare access. Nurses United, a primary organizer of the event, led a large section of the crowd, holding a sign that read “Nurses for Democracy.” 

“ We’re out here at the No Kings Rally because we need to make sure as nurses, that our communities have healthcare, and that’s on the chopping block,” said  Sandy Reding, Registered Nurse and President of California Nurses Association and  Vice President of National Nurses United. She continued, “nurses are the most trusted profession for good reason, because we fight for our patients, we fight for our communities, and we’re gonna make sure that we win.” 

In Oakland, over 10,000 demonstrators marched to Lake Merritt, where Oakland Mayor and former Congresswoman Barbara Lee addressed the crowd. 

Nancy Nagel, an Indivisible Mid-Peninsula organizer of Palo Alto’s march, said that while there is a lot of work to be done, Saturday’s events gave her hope.

“The project of restoring the country and rebuilding our institutions is going to be a long term project,” Nagel said. “Nationally, this is a movement that is growing, growing, growing. So I feel very hopeful.”

Claire Barber contributed reporting from San Francisco.