Ava Knapp

In response to the nationwide “No Kings” protest, members of the Palo Alto community gather to oppose what they see as a rise in authoritarianism by marching down Embarcadero Road this afternoon. Gina Wulff, protester from Portola Valley, said she strongly believes that the current presidential administration is undermining democracy. “Our [U.S. citizens’] executive branch is completely out of control and we the people need to make it stop,” Wulff said. “I hope that the administration realizes that they do not have the approval of the majority of the people in America. Trump is not a king and he is not a ruler.”

More than 3,000 protesters from Palo Alto and neighboring cities rallied together to march from Town and Country Marketplace to Rinconada Park this afternoon, joining the nationwide “No Kings” protest.

The event was coordinated by four different sections of the organization, Indivisible, including Palo Alto Plus, Mid-Peninsula, Portola Valley and Mountain View.

Rather than staging a stationary protest, Melissa Dinwiddie, leader of Indivisible Palo Alto Plus, aimed to make the event more engaging by organizing a march to Rinconada Park, where a variety of workshops, speakers and musicians rallied support as part of a democracy fair. Speakers including songwriter and activist Joan Baez and congressman Sam Liccardo inspired the crowd.

Dinwiddie said that the workshops intended to increase participation and further unify the community.

“California is a blue state, but we need 3.5 percent of the population to get up off their couches,” Dinwiddie said. “A lot of people are allergic to the traditional protest, so what we wanted to do today with our parade and democracy fair was invite those people in to have something that’s more fun, creative and family friendly.”

According to a flyer from Indivisible Mid-Peninsula, the ‘No Kings’ protests across the nation is a direct response to President Donald Trumps $100 million birthday celebration — an event funded by taxpayers while millions are told there is no money for Social Security, SNAP, Medicaid, or public schools.

Dinwiddie said protesters need to continue to take action and raise awareness when new issues occur.

“One of the things that activists have to do is to be really nimble, agile and to continue to innovate, be resilient and be responsive to what’s happening,” Dinwiddie said. “With everything that’s happening and the atrocities around the immigration, we’re looking at turning attention to how we can respond and we’re still determining what that’s going to look like going forward.”

Protester Robert Saltzman from Redwood City was motivated to participate because of what he sees as growing authoritarianism in the U.S.

“It feels like we’re [the U.S.] turning into a fascist state, so I wanted to express my concern about that,” Saltzman said. “On my sign, I wanted to use [the word] ‘Chaos,’ with each letter representing something I think is going wrong with Trump.”

Protester Katherine Ramierz, who works in Palo Alto, said part of her reason for joining in the demonstration was her love of the city.

“I came out today because I had a passion to come and represent those who are too afraid and those who feel like they can’t,” Ramirez said. “I love this country because I love this city and this state. I wanted to just come and let my voice be heard.”