Thousands of San Luis Obispo County residents and students gathered in downtown Saturday for the third No Kings Day protest. Among them was Joanne Schultz, a representative of the League of Women Voters, who chanted, “Make good trouble!”
Schultz encouraged the cheering crowd to push back on the policies of the Trump administration.
This is the third “No Kings” protesting the Trump administration.
What is No Kings Day?
“No Kings” began after Trump’s second inauguration, where large crowds across the country to protest the his administration’s immigration crackdown, cuts to federal welfare programs and what the organization describes as “authoritarian power grabs.”
The event began in front of the San Luis Obispo County Courthouse at the intersection of Monterey and Los Osos, where several speakers aired their frustration with the Trump administration through loud cheers, elaborate costumes and posters. The large turnout, which was equal to the previous events in June and October, presented challenges for the organizers, SLO Indivisible.
The lineup of speakers included Lily Norcross, a transgender athlete at Arroyo Grande High School who was targeted by the Justice Department, and Captain Pete Pepper, a Silver Star and Bronze Star-awarded veteran of the Vietnam War. They spoke on the Trump administration’s actions on transgender rights and the conflict in Iran, respectively.
“This war to protect transgender individuals demands that you actively participate,” Norcross said.
“Good soldiers are dying there, and we will lose many more, as I lost decades ago. Like Vietnam, this is another war of choice,” said Captain Pepper.
Afterwards, Taylor Young, an organizer with SLO Indivisible, directed attendees to march from the courthouse to Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, then to Nipomo Street and through Higuera Street.
However, once attendees began marching outside of the intersection of Monterey and Los Osos, they had to move to the sidewalk per the city’s event permit, according to Young. This forced people to wait for space to open up on the sidewalk and stand shoulder-to-shoulder for more than 10 minutes before they could start marching.
Despite the obstacle, most attendees were more focused on the purpose of “No Kings.”
Lilly Martinez, a student at Cuesta College, came to object to what she called “the darkness” in the world. She attended the previous “No Kings” protests, and wanted to come back to be with the community.
“I just feel so happy in my community afterwards, and every time is better than the last,” Martinez said.
Another protestor, Andy Wise showed up to express his desire for change.
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“We need to force change, and it’s gonna take numbers of millions of people to force it to happen,” Wise said.
What made this No Kings Day different?
Part of the reason for having to march on the street was the cost. The total cost of the event was close to $20,000, and the cost to the company to block off traffic was $ 8,000, according to Joanne Coghlan, another organizer with SLO Indivisible. She said that the cost to block traffic for a march in the streets would have added to those costs with additional permits.
“It was a good compromise because people have a right to be on the sidewalk and it did not impact local businesses as much as a march on the street,” she said.
Coghlan also said they spoke with local businesses to get their input and encouraged people to shop at local businesses to support them.
During her speech before the march, Coghlan encouraged people to resist ICE’s immigration enforcement by joining the volunteers who follow federal agents with whistles to alert people of their presence.
“The first thing that you can do is train to be a first responder,” Coghlan said during her speech.