Thousands of people across San Diego County participated in so-called No Kings Day protests Saturday. Organizers said they're rallying against what they call the autocratic immigration policies of President Donald Trump, military strikes in Iran and other policies.
KPBS went to rallies in La Mesa, Chula Vista and Escondido to ask participants why they were marching. Here's what they said:
San Carlos resident Barbara McNair, 81, poses for a portrait during a “No Kings” protest in La Mesa, California, part of a nationwide day of demonstrations against the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown, military strikes in Iran and other policies, on March 28, 2026. McNair has lived in East County since 1979 and has never attended a political protest but was inspired to demonstrate for LGBTQ+ rights. “I think everyone has the right to be married,” McNair said. “Everyone has the right to be happy.”
Spring Valley resident Vangie Meneses, 75, stands for a portrait during a “No Kings” protest in La Mesa, California. Meneses, a longtime activist and educator who rallied against the Vietnam War in San Francisco and for farmworkers' rights in Delano, said she hoped she wouldn't have to march anymore. "But I think this is worse than when I was a young student," she said. "And people have to step up."
Grace Bajarias, 21, stands for a portrait during a “No Kings” protest in La Mesa, California. Bajarias said she decided to attend the demonstration after watching an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shoot U.S. citizen Renée Good in the face in Minneapolis. "I do want a future, and I want to practice my civil rights," Bajarias said.
Lemon Grove resident Kandy Ray, 50, stands for a portrait during a “No Kings” protest in La Mesa, California. Ray decided to attend the protest for her four children in hopes of securing the America she said they deserve. "That looks like everyone being free, everyone having the rights that were guaranteed to us when we were born," Ray said. "And not being hunted down in the streets like animals."
Chula Vista resident Alicia Martinez stands for a portrait during a “No Kings” protest in Chula Vista. Martinez said she feels the public isn't paying enough attention to the immigrants dying in U.S. detention centers. "It took two American citizens to die," she said.
San Ysidro resident and plumber Jack Crawford, 60, stands for a portrait during a “No Kings” protest in Chula Vista. Crawford said this was only the second protest he had ever attended. "The diluting of the balance of power, the authoritarianism that's starting to unravel itself, it just seems to be getting worse," he said. "I want there to be more than one person in charge."
San Diego resident Margot Colbert, 75, stands for a portrait during a “No Kings” protest in Chula Vista. Colbert was too young to protest growing up in the 1960s in segregated West Virginia, she said, and now feels a duty to protest for her grandchildren. "I want them to know they have to fight for their life," she said. "I'm doing this for them and other kids."
Elena Cid, 20, a resident of Imperial Beach, stands for a portrait during a “No Kings” protest in Chula Vista. Cid is strongly against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. "I strongly dislike the fear they have brought into our communities," she said. "We're not for that around here at all."
Chula Vista resident Sebastian Shaul, 19, stands for a portrait during a “No Kings” protest in Chula Vista. Shaul opposes the U.S.' war in particular. "I don't like that we're supporting the war in the Middle East right now," he said. "Palestine, I think this all ties into that."
Diane Hertz of Valley Center stands for a portrait during a “No Kings” protest in Escondido, California. Hertz said she decided to attend because of what she sees as a lack of transparency around the Epstein files. "President Trump's name — how many times has it been redacted?" she said. "That's the main reason why."
