Indivisible Santa Barbara to Join Nationwide ‘No Kings’ Protest on October 18

Indivisible Santa Barbara, a nonprofit political organization, will host a political rally and march at Alameda Park on Saturday, October 18, as part of the nationwide “No Kings Day of Peaceful Action.” The event is one of more than 2,500 similar protests scheduled across the country in opposition to what organizers describe as authoritarian overreach by the Trump administration.

The Santa Barbara event will begin at noon with a rally featuring speeches by Congressmember Salud Carbajal and State Assemblymember Gregg Hart, as well as representatives from the Immigration Legal Defense Center, 805 Undocufund, and Planned Parenthood. Following the rally, attendees will march from Alameda Park down Anacapa Street to De la Guerra Plaza. This marks the second No Kings protest, following a major demonstration in June that drew an estimated 12,000 attendees. Organizers say they expect at least 15,000 people for Saturday’s action. 

“We are in the fight of our lives right now for this country,” said Myra Paige, a member of the Indivisible S.B. steering committee. “And we are not going to stop because a president calls us hateful. We are not the ones disappearing immigrants off the street. We are the patriots.”

Organizers said the protest will focus on several issues, including recent ICE activity in Carpinteria and Camarillo, attacks on reproductive health care, and Proposition 50 — a statewide ballot measure that, if passed, would temporarily replace California’s congressional district maps with legislatively drawn ones.

“We had guardrails in the first Trump administration. In this second one, we don’t,” Paige said. “So Indivisible is back in action.”

Ian Paige, Myra’s husband and also on the steering committee, said the rally will remain peaceful and nonviolent. “We are not part of what Republicans are trying to paint as a violent, Antifa, hate-filled organization,” he said. “What we’re attempting to do is a peaceful demonstration that the will of the people is to resist this kind of takeover of the democratic norms in our country.”

Keith Carlson, another member of the committee, added that the push for nonviolence is especially important given what organizers describe as a deliberate effort by right-wing figures to polarize the country and frame progressive resistance as dangerous or illegitimate. “It all depends on it being a peaceful demonstration of the will of the people,” he said. “We’re just trying to bring democracy back to the United States.”

The demonstration is part of a national movement supported by organizations such as the ACLU, SEIU, MoveOn, Public Citizen, and others. Indivisible and its partners emphasize that all events are nonviolent and organized in coordination with local authorities.

Carlson emphasized the importance of continued public participation. “Grassroots is currently the only avenue we have to show our displeasure,” he said. “The media has largely abandoned us. The Democrats are largely out of power. Grassroots is the only game in town.”

Organizers said the event is open to all political affiliations. “We’ve asked Republicans to speak at our rallies,” Carlson said. “We may not agree on every issue, but we agree that autocracy is not American.”

Events are also scheduled in Carpinteria, Santa Ynez, Lompoc, and Santa Maria. Indivisible S.B. has published a list of follow-up actions for attendees on its website.

“We hope everyone leaves with a list in hand,” Carlson said. “Calls to make. Offices to visit. This isn’t just a demonstration — it’s a starting point.”