The Castillo Street offramp of the southbound 101 was backing up onto the freeway this morning, the first hint that more than 10,000 people were headed for Santa Barbara’s No Kings protest on Saturday. A crowd of people young and old lined Cabrillo Boulevard from City College to the Chromatic Arch — a mile and a half of chanting, cheering, honking, and singing — but mostly expressed through the words and images hoisted on hand-made signs — and the occasional banana or lion suit.
The wide sidewalk along the boulevard was thick with protesters waving signs, wearing signs, even putting signs on their dogs. The F-word dominated, being used to disparage ICE, Trump, Nazis, this last one in needlepoint. Some signs were hyper local: “We don’t need ICE, we have McConnell’s.” It was so crowded in some places that when anyone stopped to take a photo or tie their shoe, a mass of humanity bumped into them.
Indivisible Santa Barbara had organized a different kind of rally this time, one without speakers and only a request to keep the sidewalks and driveways passable, stay peaceful, and visit Juneteenth at Plaza del Mar afterward. Impromptu parades went down the center of the sidewalk as groups of friends chanted “This is what democracy looks like” or marched together in a procession headed for another spot along West Beach.
Millions of people turned out to the 1,500 No Kings rallies held nationwide. In Santa Barbara, one of the Indivisible organizers, Myra Paige, estimated that about 12,000 people were on the boulevard, though the Indy‘s estimate (based on a headcount of 50 people per 20 feet of sidewalk) is closer to 18,000; the police department’s unofficial crowd count is 4,000-5,000. The crowd had been wonderful and accommodating to the many monitors on hand, Paige said, with the police informing her this was a peaceful, no-problem event.
On the sidewalk not far from Los Banos was a group from St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Isla Vista. Linda Nelson was handing out red cards with information in English and Spanish on being stopped, attempts to enter a home, warrants, and searches. Nelson said she couldn’t believe the violence that she’d seen against peaceful protesters: “Nobody living in America should be treated this way.” If push came to shove, however, Nelson said that protesters could not impede law enforcement, but onlookers are able to step back when asked and take photos or record what they are seeing and hearing.
Saturday’s protest was peaceful, even cheerful for many. “It’s my birthday too!” said Leslie Westbrook, who started an Indivisible group in Carpinteria during Trump 1.0 and is a contributor to the Independent. “I am thrilled to see so many people coming out in Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Ventura,” Westbrook said, “and I’m glad it’s raining on his parade today.”
Thousands of Santa Barbarans rallied in a peaceful “No Kings” day. | Photo credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
Thousands of Santa Barbarans rallied in a peaceful “No Kings” day. | Photo credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
Thousands of Santa Barbarans rallied in a peaceful “No Kings” day. | Photo credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
Thousands of Santa Barbarans rallied in a peaceful “No Kings” day. | Photo credit: Ingrid Bostrom 
Thousands of Santa Barbarans rallied in a peaceful “No Kings” day. | Photo credit: Ingrid Bostrom
The No Kings rallies formed in protest of the military parade Trump is holding in D.C. this afternoon, ahead of thunderstorms forecast for the evening. The date is the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army, as well as coinciding with Trump’s 79th birthday and Flag Day. The red-white-and-blue abounded along Cabrillo Boulevard, as well as the flags of California, Mexico, Ukraine, and Argentina. Cars waving flags out their windows cruised by, honking their horns, with the crowds cheering in return.
No Kings protests also took place in Solvang and Lompoc, where 800-1,000 people gathered, many of them young, while a constant flow of cars honked their support. One supporter told the Independent, “When a big truck went by loaded with freshly picked strawberries, someone yelled out, ‘Who do you think picked those berries?'”
In Santa Barbara, a number of those present were apprehensive about being there but attending to protest nonetheless. Many had bandanas or masks over their faces. One woman said she was concerned with the number of photos and videos being taken and the possibility of facial recognition software being used to identify people. It was seeing U.S. Senator Alex Padilla getting taken down that convinced her to show her support at the No Kings event, she said.
Some people declined to give their name or their full name during the rally. A young man who had graduated from UC Santa Barbara a few years ago said he felt emotional and nervous being there. The rally felt very personal for him. “All this is affecting my life directly,” he said. His father had been taken away by immigration agents when he was young, but has returned, and his mother is undocumented and very worried when she goes to work. “It means a lot to see so many people out here,” he said.
Many of the protesters said they turned out to show the community is coming together. “It’s important to show up and tell people where we stand,” said Ted Conrad. “If we don’t, that’s how fascism starts.”
A young photographer who had come from Santa Ynez said his parents were immigrants. “The ICE raids are not okay,” Diego Bautista said. “They said they were going to arrest criminals, not people who were going to work.” He’d been hearing that some parents were scared to go to their jobs for fear of being taken away. “And profiling people is just not right.”
A group of teens were worried about Trump’s attacks on trans rights and LGBTQ rights. “I can’t even vote yet, but I’m terrified for my family, for my kids,” said Sequoia, while her friend Lucas said their mother always told them to fight for what they believed in. “This is all going downhill really fast,” Lucas said, recalling the loss of Roe v. Wade during Trump’s first term. With them was Sean Copeland, the father of one of the teens. He’d been a captain in the Army, he said, joining to protect freedoms like the freedom to protest. What he’s been seeing going on in Los Angeles, “it goes against the oath we take to defend the Constitution,” he said. “Soldiers must do as we’re told, but not when it’s against the law.” He took exception to the “draft dodger who doesn’t respect what we went through, calling us suckers and losers. It’s a disgrace.”
By the Dolphin Fountain, another group of friends held signs and a flag reversed in the sign of distress. They were there to express their First Amendment rights, said Jennifer De la Palma, for their parents, families, and friends, many of whom are essential workers. “The community has such strong bonds, it’s so important in our lives to stand up,” she said. De la Palma said the flag she carried was to remind soldiers that they swore an oath to the Constitution, “not to a president.”
Seated on a bench along the boulevard was Larry Ferguson, holding a sign to the crowd that said “Happy Barfday.” He was headed for the pool hall once the protest was over, he said, but he had come down for democracy’s sake. “Democracy only works when the people support ‘We the People,'” he said.
Ferguson, who said he was 75, has “Trumpist” relatives and was concerned that the media tell the truth. “Some people believe the lies. How can we know how to vote if we believe lies?” he asked. He added that democracy would die or suffocate in the dark, but that the unity the people were showing on Saturday was a day that carried hope. “I needed that,” he said, “I really needed to feel some hope.”
Correction: We got Sean Copeland’s first name wrong in the first version of this story. It has been corrected.
A Santa Barbara native. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Barb Wire, 61, of Santa Barbara. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Suzanna Wheeler, 45, of Santa Barbara. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Karen Cahill, 66, a 30 year resident of Santa Barbara. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Andriana Iudice, 43, from Santa Barbara and recent UCSB grad. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
NT, 20s, from the Central Valley asked to be identified by their initials. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Reianna Williams, 23, from East Los Angeles, now living in Santa Barbara and attending UCSB. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Jessica Armstrong, 53, is a teacher at The Oaks from Santa Barbara. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Jose Lopez, 62, from Santa Barbara. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Zachary Eichert, 43, of Santa Barbara. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Kathy Eichert, 79, former 50 year Santa Barbara resident came back from Camino Island, Washington for her birthday and is out protesting with her son and cousin. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Angelica Silva, 32, of Santa Barbara | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Melissa Ortiz, 37, of Santa Barbara. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Yolanda Ramos, 54, of Santa Barbara. She describes herself and her daughters, Melissa Ortiz and Angelica Silva, as “homegrown Chumash and Mexican”. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Spencer Oberle, 14, of Ventura made homemade patches to hand out at the protest. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Marissa Sisk, 25, recent UCSB grad and tribal energy planner. She is from the Mvskoke (Creek) Nation | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Stephen Sherrill, 78, Santa Barbara native. He was the founder of Arlington West, a symbolic graveyard of crosses honoring those who passed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sherrill was out every Sunday for 10 years setting up the installation and protesting alongside Veterans for Peace. Today he is out with his daughter and two grandchildren, continuing his activist legacy. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Nise Baker, 50, loacl artist from Santa Barbara. This is her first venture into political art and says, “it has allowed me to engage in a new way.” This painting took her a little over two days to complete and features an Elon Musk Pez dispenser shooting adderall and ketamine pills into Trump’s mouth. She also pointed out a taco shell that is covered in male genitalia which she calls a “dick taco”. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
From left to right: Juniper Cahoon, 2, Aliana Cahoon, 27, Ryan Cahoon, 1, and Chase Cahoon, 37, of Santa Barbara. Aliana has been protesting since she was in a stroller with her father Stephen Sherrill, and now continues the tradition with her children. The family is out today to “be a part of something,” says Aliana and to “support our brothers and sisters” says Chase. | Credit: Elaine Sanders 
Dean White, 74, and Barbara Flanigan, 73, of Santa Barbara. “We need to get out and see each other so that we can have empathy,” says Flanigan. They referenced the recent handcuffing of US Senator Padilla after he interrupted Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on Thursday. White says he is out here because “this is not a democracy anymore.” | Credit: Elaine Sanders
You must be logged in to post a comment.