‘No Kings’: Thousands gather in SLO County to protest Trump
As thousands of people gathered in Washington, D.C., for a lavish anniversary parade for the U.S. Army on Saturday — which also happened to be President Trump’s 79th birthday — thousands of others collected in the streets of San Luis Obispo to protest what they see as his administration’s federal overreach.
The rally was joined by two others in SLO County — in Atascadero and Cambria — and more across the country in a coordinated effort called “No Kings Day.”
The goal of “No Kings” day was to stand up against the “range of authority” Trump has exercised, which they see as a “threat to our Constitution,” Linda Baker, a rally organizer with the SLO County branch of the national movement Indivisible, told The Tribune ahead of Saturday’s events.
Indivisible teamed up with other grassroots political organizations like Stand Up America and 50501 to organize the national movement spanning all 50 states.
“The main purpose of the day is to show that we protect the Constitution and the rights that it gives us as individuals, and the way that has divided our government,” Baker said. “We do not believe that the executive should have the range of authority that is currently being exercised.”
The San Luis Obispo rally kicked off at the courthouse on Monterey street at 10 a.m., around the same time as the rally in Atascadero at the intersection of El Camino Real and Morro Road. Cambria planned to hold an event later in the day from 4 to 6 p.m. at the corner of Cambria Drive and Main Street.
Cayucos also held a rally, with about 200 people on the Highway 101 overpass on Cayucos Drive.
‘No Kings’ rally in SLO responds to executive overreach
“No Kings” day was named in response to what organizers see as President Trump’s overreach of executive power. In social media posts, both Trump and the White House have likened him to a king, and on Saturday, he threw himself a royal party.
The nationwide protests were planned for the same day as the U.S. Army’s Grand Military Parade in Washington, D.C.. The parade was planned to involve approximately 6,600 soldiers, 150 military vehicles, 50 helicopters, fireworks, a demonstration by the Army’s Golden Knights Parachute team and a country music concert.
Cost estimates for the parade sit at $45 million, with an extra $16 million in damage to the capital’s streets expected, NBC News reported.
The President’s military parade/birthday party comes at a time when agencies and services that support active duty members and veterans face massive federal funding cuts.
Baker said the choice to coordinate the local “No Kings” rallies on Saturday, coinciding with Trump’s military birthday parade and Flag Day, was very intentional.
“We picked that day to show that there is broad, broad, popular support for our civil rights and the Constitution, and we do not believe that the United States should have a king or an executive that has the authority of a king,” she said.
Since taking office, Trump has signed 162 executive orders — as many as Joe Biden signed in his entire four year presidency, according to the American Presidency Project. Some of the orders attempted actions that federal judges ruled to be beyond his power, including making massive cuts to federal funding and dictating transgender athlete inclusion in school sports.
“The withdrawal of support for our major cultural and political organizations and the attacking of individual marginalized groups like LGBTQ+ and trans people are violations of our civil rights,” Baker said.
Earlier in the week, Trump deployed thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell protests without the consent of California Gov. Gavin Newsom — an action which hasn’t been done without a governor’s approval since 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson did so to protect civil rights marchers in Alabama.
On Thursday, a federal judge issued an order that deemed Trump’s deployment of California National Guard troops illegal, but the ruling was put on hold by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“We are protecting our Constitution, we’re standing together and we’re taking care of each other,” Baker said.
Thousands gather in front of SLO courthouse for protest
Though the official start time was 10:30 a.m., at least a thousand people had already gathered at the San Luis Obispo courthouse by 10 a.m. spilling into Monterey Street, which was closed down by the police between Santa Rosa and Osos Streets.
By the height, SLO Police Chief Rick Scott estimated about 5,000 people were in attendance, on par with organizers’ initial estimates. Rally organizers in Atascadero estimated about 1,000 attendees.
As Cal Poly graduates celebrated at the bars and brunched with their families just a few streets over, the crowd could be heard all over downtown chanting “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go” and “Stand up, fight back” from the courthouse steps.
Meanwhile, performers from the Live Oak music festival at the El Chorro Campgrounds diverted from the festival to volunteer at the protest, opening with acoustic guitar renditions of songs like “Revolution” by The Beatles and “This Land is Your Land.”
Among the crowd were local representatives Assemblymember Dawn Addis, California Senator John Laird and county supervisors Bruce Gibson and Jimmy Paulding.
“I’m not here as a Democrat, I’m here as an American,” SLO County Democratic Party Chair Tom Fulks said in his opening statement as the protest fully kicked off at 10:30 a.m.
Supervisor Paulding was the first guest speaker on Saturday morning at 10:35 a.m.
“It is an honor to be here with you all today on Flag Day,” he said. “While some choose to celebrate this day with tanks and military parades, we choose to come together to celebrate what this country is, what this flag over here stands for, to honor what the American flag stands for.”
He continued: “What does it stand for? It stands for freedom, liberty and justice for all, because the flag doesn’t belong to anyone party, president or any one political ideology, it belongs to all of us. To the people.”
In between speakers, the rally organizers lead the crowd in chants to support the immigrant community, including “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here.”
Other speakers included Addis, Laird and Rita Casaverde, the executive director of the Diversity Coalition SLO County.
“Seven years ago, I was told that saying ‘Abolish ICE’ was too radical,” Casaverde said. “Look at the videos now. ... Can we scream ‘Abolish ICE’ now?”
During his speech, Laird said that when California Senator Alex Padilla was handcuffed and forcibly removed from a Department of Homeland Security news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, “we were attacked. The Constitution was attacked.”
He said Saturday’s protest was just the start.
“Don’t walk away. It is not one demonstration, this is the long haul,” he said. “We’re going to have to be in the streets the next four years. We’re going to have to make sure that the Constitution is enforced.”
Protestors marched through downtown SLO
The crowd began to march at 11:10 a.m. as someone with a megaphone chanted “No kings, no crowns, we the people won’t back down.”
The crowds were so large that people could barely move down the roads. People of all ages took to the streets chanting calls to protect our democracy.
Traffic controllers corralled people onto the sidewalks of Monterey Street as passing by cars honked in support. For the most part, protestors obeyed traffic laws, waited for green lights and stuck to the sidewalks and crosswalks during the march.
As the crowd split down the middle onto the sidewalks on either side of Monterey Street, they chanted “It’s love, not hate, that makes America great.” A few marchers could be heard chanting “Free Palestine.”
Organizers estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people were in attendance at 11:30 a.m., on par with their initial estimates.
Katie Smith, a third year Cal Poly student, has been to a few protests now. She was excited to see how many young people made it out on Saturday.
“To be out here and see so many people our age, it’s exciting,” she said. “We’re finally putting the time in to do what we know is the right thing.”
Smith said one of those peers was at the protest in his graduation stole and was planning to head directly to his Cal Poly graduation ceremony from the rally.
Ricky Stewart, a local musical artist from Oceano, painted a guitar with the words, “this machine kills fascists,” for the protest.
Camin Turner of Cayucos offered the stranger sunscreen as he played in the hot sun on the steps above Seeds cafe.
“I’m just thrilled to see so many people here and so much unity and caring,” Turner, 60, told The Tribune. “It just makes you feel like you’re not alone in all this, it gives you hope.”
Protestors headed toward Mission Plaza, then turned left on Chorro Street and again on Higuera Street to make a loop back to the courthouse.
Families with Cal Poly graduates waited outside Luna Red for brunch reservations as protestors flooded past on the sidewalk.
As marchers banged on drums and chanted “No ICE, no KKK, no fascist USA,” passing cars on Higuera hung signs out their windows and honked in support.
Police parked their motorcycles and walked up and down the road, patrolling calmly and making sure everyone stayed off the streets.
Back at the courthouse at noon, the protest became something more akin to a block party, with musical artists performing on the courthouse steps and rally goers cheering in support.
By 12:30 p.m., streets were beginning to clear as crowds either went back to the courthouse to hang out, stuck around mission plaza or headed home.
In light of LA protests, safety was a priority at SLO County rallies
The nationwide “No Kings” rallies follow a week of civil unrest kicked off by U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement raids in Los Angeles, triggering a weekend of protests that ended in thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines being deployed to the city and a federally-enforced curfew.
Many other cities across the country including San Francisco, New York and Chicago followed suit, with many featuring less-than-peaceful clashes with the police involving tear gas and crowd-control munition.
In response, Trump threatened that protesters across the country would be met with “equal or greater force” than those in Los Angeles, which he called “a trash heap,” according to The New York Times.
Baker said in light of how peaceful protests in Los Angeles were escalated by the National Guard, they wanted to emphasize safety and civility at the SLO County “No Kings” day rallies.
No clashes took place at the SLO protest on Saturday.
Police patrolled the streets calmly and protestors stayed largely off the roads. Organizers thanked law enforcement for protecting rally goers and keeping the peace.
Protestors line up in Cambria
Hundreds of “No Kings” protestors lined up along Cambria’s Main Street and Cambria Drive later Saturday afternoon.
The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd held signs and waved to those driving past. The demonstrators stretched on Main nearly from the Santa Rosa Catholic Church to the Pinedorado grounds and the full length of the bank side of Cambria Drive.
Many of the attendees were from Cambria, but some came from other areas.
“We are losing our rights as women,” Cara Garver, of Morro Bay, said. “I am here for immigration and families. I am here for women.”
She then quoted Margaret Atwood: “Better to die on your feet, than live on my knees.”
Further down, Kitty Connelly of Cambria said what brought her out was her “hope that we can reclaim this country.”
“Belief in democracy,” she added. “Not happy with the way things are going.”
“I want people to know we don’t believe in Kings and we will not lie down,” longtime Cambria resident Glenda Griffith said.
The event didn’t start until 4 p.m., to allow those who wanted to attend the San Luis Obispo or other earlier demonstration could do so.
Also, a chili cookoff to raise money for the town’s fire department was held in the area earlier in the day, and demonstration organizers didn’t want to conflict with the fundraiser.
This story was originally published June 14, 2025 at 10:30 AM.
