Quick Take
Political organizers in Santa Cruz and Watsonville are planning to bring big local numbers to a nationwide protest against the Trump administration. The second "No Kings" gathering, following the first in June, is slated for Oct. 18, to include a march and rally in downtown Santa Cruz and a rally at the Watsonville Plaza.
Thousands in Santa Cruz County are expected to be out in the streets on Saturday, Oct. 18, in a sequel to the “No Kings” protests and march four months ago. The local actions will be part of a nationwide effort staged by a number of activist groups to protest the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops in American cities and other federal policies.
Locally, “No Kings 2” will take place in both Santa Cruz and Watsonville. In Santa Cruz, organizers are planning a march through downtown, followed by a rally in San Lorenzo Park. In Watsonville, the protest will limit itself to the downtown Watsonville Plaza, with speakers and performers.
Amanda Harris Altice, one of the organizers of the march on behalf of Indivisible Santa Cruz County, said the June 14 protest drew more than 10,000 people to a rally at San Lorenzo Park. She said she hopes to attract around 15,000 to the Oct. 18 event.
“We’re really hoping for [a bigger crowd],” she said, “because the reason we’re doing this is to continue to build the movement and bring more and more people in.”
The event is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on that Saturday at San Lorenzo Park. At 10:30 a.m., assembled marchers will begin to travel down Soquel Avenue into downtown, up Pacific Avenue to Water Street, and back to the park. Several speakers are expected to address the crowd at the post-march rally, until about noon.
At about the time the rally in Santa Cruz is set to disperse, another in Watsonville will be getting started. Organizers at Indivisible Pajaro Valley estimate that the June 14 protest in Watsonville attracted about 1,500 people. They’re looking to double that number to 3,000 on Oct. 18. Among the expected speakers at the rally will be the county’s superintendent of schools, Faris Sabbah. Musical performers will include Aztec dancers.
“We are trying to be part of the movement to get 3.5% of the American population to turn out and register its unhappiness with what this authoritarian regime is doing,” said one of the Watsonville rally organizers, Olivia Millard.
Nationwide, Oct. 18 is being billed as a “Day of Defiance,” with some organizers claiming it will be the largest peaceful protest in American history. Similar “No Kings” protests are expected regionally in Sunnyvale, San Jose, Monterey, Salinas, Boulder Creek, Gilroy and Hollister.
Organizers said they did not experience much confrontation or conflict at the June 14 events from either counterprotesters or federal law enforcement agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Santa Cruz rally will have between 40 and 50 safety volunteers trained in deescalation and nonviolent practices on hand to keep the experience safe for everyone.
The Oct. 18 protests are free and open to all, but organizers are asking participants to register for both the Santa Cruz march and the Watsonville rally.
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FOR THE RECORD: This story was updated to remove a reference to a “No King’s” rally being planned for Aromas.
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