Thousands expected for next No Kings rally in SLO. Here’s what’s planned
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- SLO County will host No Kings 2 rallies Oct. 18 to protest ICE and federal policy.
- Organizers expect up to 10,000 attendees; city will close streets and deploy security.
- Rally focuses on Prop 50 to redraw districts and win five Democratic seats.
The national No Kings rallies are returning for a second run in San Luis Obispo County in October, this time with a special focus.
At No Kings 2: Yes on 50, rally-goers will protest the Trump administration and promote Proposition 50, which seeks voter approval to redraw the boundaries of California’s congressional districts to boost Democratic candidates chances in response to Republican-slanted redistricting in Texas.
On Oct. 18, two rallies in SLO County — in downtown SLO and Cambria — will join at least 2,000 others across the nation objecting to what local organizers call “outrageous abuses” of the Trump administration and the “anonymous, unaccountable, violent actions of Trump’s secret police” — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
The nationwide rallies come in the wake of the recent ICE raid on a Chicago apartment building and ahead of the statewide special election on Nov. 4.
“(We) want peaceful pushback against these cruel, heartbreaking decisions and policies that are being implemented illegally, in many cases, across our country,” said Tina Wener, an organizer for the grassroots political organization Indivisible.
The SLO County Democratic Party teamed up with local branches of Indivisible and activism group 50501 to organize the local rally.
The first No Kings rally in June drew about 5,000 attendees — this time, organizers say they are expecting at least double that.
“What we’re objecting to is our own president declaring war on the American people,” SLO County Democratic Chair Tom Fulks told The Tribune. “That’s what this is about.”
Organizers say there will be more space, sound and security at No Kings 2
SLO County’s main No Kings rally will be held in downtown SLO from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18. Cambria will host its own independent protest from 3 to 5 p.m..
Online registration is not necessary but helps organizers gauge how many people plan to attend.
“The main goal is to put on the biggest protest that SLO County has ever seen,” 50501 organizer Jesse Hudson told The Tribune.
In light of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, organizers said safety is a No. 1 priority, and they are pulling out all the stops to ensure the event can handle increased attendance.
The city will close off about three “very generous” blocks in SLO in anticipation of up to 10,000 people — twice the turnout of June’s rally.
Osos Street will be closed to traffic for two blocks from Palm to Higuera streets, and Monterey Street will be closed for a block from Santa Rosa to Osos streets in front of the courthouse. Organizers worked with city officials, police and the Fire Department to coordinate street closures and security for the event.
A stage will be set up at the intersection of Monterey and Osos Streets that will host speakers and musical artists, complete with a jumbotron screen to project content during the event.
The rally will borrow the sound system from the city’s Concerts in the Plaza summer concert series, which was designed to “eliminate the sound deserts we’ve had before at these rallies,” Fulks said.
There will also be portable bathrooms, a safety first-aid tent, an ADA-accessible area and water on site, as well as 100 volunteers trained in deescalation techniques.
“We want more people peacefully showing up and showing in their active participation their dissatisfaction with what’s happening across the country and under this administration and its allies,” Wener said.
No Kings organizers say Yes on Prop. 50
A large focus of No Kings 2 is to promote support for Proposition 50.
Prop. 50 — which would redraw California’s Congressional districts to create five Democratic-leaning seats — is a reaction to Texas redistricting the state in favor of Republicans ahead of the mid-term elections, aiming to flip five congressional seats red. SLO County’s two congressional districts would not be affected by the changes.
All three event organizers have endorsed support for Prop. 50.
“Prop. 50 is very important, not just for California, but for the whole country, because what the Republican Party is doing is just redistricting and flipping seats without even putting it to the vote,” 50501 organizer Hudson said. “In California, we know that the voters will decide to counterbalance that and to put a stop to what they’re doing.”
Critics of Prop. 50 have argued that it is a Democratic gerrymander that takes power away from the people and hands it back to the politicians by overriding California’s independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, but Fulks said that “desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“Prop. 50 is unique in that it’s a gerrymander, for darn sure, but it’s a gerrymander that is seeking permission from the voters of California,” Fulks said. “This is in direct response to Trump trying to rig the midterm elections.”
To Fulks, Prop. 50 is “the most democratic, peaceful way to fight back against this autocracy.”
This story was originally published October 10, 2025 at 9:00 AM.
