At ‘No Kings’ protests in Santa Cruz and Watsonville, flags and slogans take on new dimension

Roughly 2,000 organized “No Kings” protests took place on Saturday across the U.S., and Santa Cruz County accounted for at least two of them.

Downtown Santa Cruz and downtown Watsonville were enlivened on Saturday with thousands of protesters, and an enterprising protester could have made it to both events (Santa Cruz was, in fact, a morning event while Watsonville took place in the afternoon)

Organized by local chapters of the national organization Indivisible, the protests combined vocal and defiant anti-Trump demonstrations with music, speakers and a continuous symphony of car horns, almost all of them in support of the protesters. Just as with the “Hands Off” rally and parade in April, there were plenty of clever hand-made signs on display. 

“There are smarter cabinets at IKEA”

However many of the sign-waving demonstrators at the “No Kings” protests employed memes and slogans that weren’t part of the political conversation two short months ago. One protester had designed and built a three-dimensional paper taco that she affixed to a post, referencing an acronym that anti-Trump activists have embraced in recent weeks (TACO: “Trump Always Chickens Out”). 

The Santa Cruz event started at 10 a.m. and ended just 90 minutes later, a decision to not interfere or distract from the long-scheduled Juneteenth celebration that was to take place the same day at noon. Organizers with Indivisible Santa Cruz said they received about 1,800 online registrations for the event. They estimated that actual attendance was in the range of 5,000 to as high as 8,000. 

“Let’s pickle the Burger King”

Crowds began converging on San Lorenzo Park shortly after 10 a.m. The footbridge connecting the park with the Trader Joe’s parking lot was as backed up and slow-moving as Highway 1 at 5 p.m. The plan was to gather around the Duck Pond Stage for a few scheduled speakers, then move en masse down Dakota Avenue to Soquel Avenue, then across Soquel to Ocean Street, ending up at the county courthouse.

“Unwilling participant in an Idiocracy”

Saturday’s protest included many American flags — some of them positioned upside down in the symbol for distress — many more than were apparent at April’s “Hands Off” rally. The inclusion of so many American flags might have been a sign that Saturday was Flag Day. But it also might indicate a broader willingness to display the Stars & Stripes in a protest context.

“Alexa, change the president”

One of those carrying a prominent American flag was Turk Dess, who said that he also attended the April event. He was reluctant to bring his flag to that protest, but made a point to bring it this time. He said when he arrived at Saturday’s protest and saw so many others carrying the American flag, he began to cry. 

“I love my country, and I was afraid that the flag was being co-opted,” he said. “So I wanted to show my support for [this event] and the flag.”

Grant McGuire was also standing up a large American flag that he had brought to the rally. “This flag stands for liberty,” he said, “which is exactly what’s being taken away from us.”

“If Kamala had won, we’d all be at brunch”

A number of speakers rallied the crowd before the march. Indivisible leader Amanda Harris Altice told the crowd, “You are building courage.” The emcee of the event, activist Ayo Banjo, evoked the Boston Tea Party and initiated a roar with “Santa Cruz, are we ready to fight? Are we ready to make history?”

Indivisible put together a force of about 50 volunteers to focus on safety at the rally. One of those volunteers, Glenn Glazer, said that he and his colleagues were trained in deescalation techniques in case of confrontations that might flare into violence. But, he reported, there had been no such incidents.

“In your guts, you know he’s nuts”

In Watsonville, an estimated 1,200 people came together at the Watsonville Plaza in a rally that did not include a march. Still, many demonstrators lined the sidewalks on both sides of Main Street for a few blocks near the plaza, and Main Street erupted with a chorus of car honks that didn’t let up for two hours. 

Much like in Santa Cruz, the Watsonville rally featured a number of large American flags (and many small ones as well). One Watsonville couple, Jesse and Virginia Gonzalez, brought a Revolutionary War-era American flag, with “76” emblazoned on the blue field with 13 stars. 

“This is to remind people that at one time we did get rid of a king,” said Jesse Gonzalez. 

“Unpaid protester, I hate him for free”

Reverence for American history and the flag mixed freely with raw anger and outrage, much of it directed at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), which has been at the forefront of the Trump administration’s controversial immigration policy. 

U.S. Army veteran Steven Martinez of Watsonville was one of those demonstrating against ICE and the MAGA “invasion” narrative aimed directly at Latinos. 

“You hear them all the time criticizing people for waving the Mexican flag,” he said of Trump-friendly commentators. “They don’t get it. It’s not about that country of Mexico. No, this is my country, America. But [the Mexican flag] represents our people. It represents the honor we have for our ancestors. And, let’s not forget, that flag flew [over California] long before the U.S. flag did.”

There was evidence of the Mexican flag in the Watsonville demonstration, but many of those carrying the Mexican flag were also carrying the American flag. 

“I’m not a sign guy, but yikes”

Heather Morse of Watsonville stood with her husband holding a large banner that read “Didn’t We Do This Already?” They both wore 1776-style tricorner hats. Heather had a drum around her neck. They were planning to re-create the famous image of a battered fife-and-drum trio that has long symbolized the American Revolution, but the third member of the trio failed to show. 

“There is hope,” she said, grinning under her tricorner. “Even though it’s so sad, and embarrassing. I mean, just look at this spirit here. There are plenty of reasons to hope.”

Photo gallery: “No Kings” protests in Santa Cruz and Watsonville

“No Kings” around California and beyond

A sampling from social media:

NEW: In the last few hours, Minnesota authorities warned people against attending protests, with a killer on the loose.This is the current view of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul.DEFIANCE. 👏#NoKings #50501Movement(📸 Daviss) — News Eye (@newseye.bsky.social) 2025-06-14T19:12:08.821Z