‘No Kings’ protests come to coastal Orange County cities
- Share via
Large crowds and parking along neighborhood streets are relatively common sights at this time of year in Laguna Beach, but it was not the usual draw that brought the masses in the early afternoon hours on Saturday.
The whole of Main Beach Park was teeming with people peacefully participating in the nationwide “No Kings” protests, one of several events planned up and down coastal Orange County.
‘No Kings’ events were organized to demonstrate against the Trump administration and the military parade in Washington, D.C., which was planned to celebrate the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army and coincided with President Trump turning 79.
The Laguna Beach protesters stood along the sidewalk and backed all the way up to the boardwalk, facing vehicular traffic while raising their voices and displaying signs.
They were acknowledged with the honking of horns that could be heard well into the hills near Laguna Beach High.
“People are clearly upset, and I think [the protest] was stimulated particularly by two things,” said Mary Clifford, chair of the executive board of the Laguna Beach Democratic Club. “One is a military parade, which people see as not a celebration but a threat, and the second thing is what we’ve seen with the immigration and ICE literally going into businesses and doing what they did. They’re in Orange County and they’re going up to people, asking for their IDs.”
Clifford added a third reason for the energized crowd on Saturday, pointing to Sen. Alex Padilla having been forcefully removed Thursday from a press conference Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was giving in Los Angeles.
“When people saw that, it scared them,” she said. “... When you culminate all of that in a two-week period, people got it.”
The Laguna Beach Democratic Club, which was established in 1945, turned 80 years old in June, Clifford said. The club partnered with Indivisible 47 in organizing the protest.
Joe Baechtold, who helps run social media for the club, estimated the turnout to be approximately 2,500 people. People wound up on both sides of South Coast Highway in the heart of the downtown area, while the crowd spread out from Laguna Avenue to the south to nearly the Laguna Art Museum at Cliff Drive to the north.
Chants and signs expressed discontent with Trump and the immigration raids.
Some of the unique scenes included a surfboard being carried around with the words, “Trump Don’t Surf,” and dogs being outfitted with signage, including one that said, “I bite MAGA.”
Laguna Beach resident Robert Johnson carried a sign that said, “The only good orange monarch is a butterfly.”
“Much bigger than I thought it was going to be,” Johnson remarked of the crowd. “It’s amazing. There’s so many people that are standing up. That’s what it’s about — standing up for our rights. When [the president] brings in the military over the governor’s orders, that’s not democracy. That’s dictatorship, putting troops in the streets, trying to silence people.”
The Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce issued a memo on Friday afternoon with information regarding what business owners could do if ICE visited their business. It provided a link to material from the National Immigration Law Center. Clifford said the club was behind that effort.
Hundreds more gathered on both sides of the street at the intersection of Coast Highway and Jamboree Road in Newport Beach.
“It’s all about democracy,” Gina Casados said at the Newport Beach rally. “No matter what your party is, we have to have rule of law.”
The Newport Beach event was also held peacefully, with the only noted opposition coming from a few drivers who displayed an offensive hand gesture and a sedan with “TRUMP” painted on its side. The sedan passed by multiple times.
Greg Shaver, a life-long Republican, showed up with his sister Lisa, each carrying signs in support of the “No Kings” protest.
“This is just not the America that we grew up in, that we knew and that we want,” said Shaver, who grew up in Newport Beach. “Every person has the right to habeas corpus.”
Local cities sent out mobile notifications advising residents to avoid the areas of the rallies due to heavy congestion.
“No Kings” protests were also scheduled at Sunset Beach and the pier in Huntington Beach, as well as in Seal Beach.
Daily Pilot freelance writer and photographer Susan Hoffman contributed to this report.
