Bay Area residents gathered at the intersection of El Camino Real and Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto as part of the second nationwide “No Kings!” protests on Saturday, Oct. 18. Protesters convened at 11:30 a.m. and began marching at 12:30 p.m. towards Rinconada Park, where the “No Kings!” Democracy Fair was held until 4 p.m.
The Palo Alto “No Kings!” march was one of roughly 2,700 similar protests on Oct. 18, with nearly 7 million American citizens participating nationwide, surpassing the 5 million protesters recorded in the first “No Kings!” protests held on June 14. These demonstrations oppose the Trump administration and, as many protesters describe, the authoritarian policies they feel it had enacted. Directed at criticizing these recent policies, the posters and signs that many of the protesters held addressed a range of issues including healthcare, fair elections, immigration and Proposition 50, which aims to implement temporary congressional redistricting in California in response to Texas’ gerrymandering.
Protester Daniel Sturman says he attended the Palo Alto “No Kings!” protests because of the current immigration policies and action taken against undocumented immigrants by ICE in recent months. As a result, Sturman chose to march with a “Crush I.C.E.” poster in addition to handing out free snow cones to the surrounding protesters. By setting up a family-friendly snow cone machine, Sturman hopes to counter those who believe protests are dangerous.
“I feel that by expressing myself in a way that I hope is fun and creative, I can show my friends, my family and my community that self-expression doesn’t have to be tear gas and jail time,” Sturman said. “Self expression can be a lighthearted Saturday afternoon with a serious mission.”
