Tens of Thousands Gather for No Kings Day of Defiance in San Francisco

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through San Francisco Saturday from Dolores Park to Civic Center Plaza for a No Kings protest organized to oppose the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement actions and crackdowns on protesters under the guise of restoring law and order.

Described by organizers as a “day of defiance,” the San Francisco event was one of more than 2,000 coordinated protests nationwide timed to counter a military parade in Washington, D.C. marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army and coinciding with President Trump’s 79th birthday.

Military parades, often associated with authoritarian regimes, are rare in the United States. The last one was held in 1991 to celebrate victory in the Gulf War.

The march followed a tense week in San Francisco marked by the arrest of demonstrators protesting immigration raids and Trump’s decision to deploy California National Guard troops and U.S. Marines in Los Angeles.

The crowd moved peacefully from the Mission District toward Civic Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., eventually filling the plaza and encircling a heavily barricaded City Hall guarded by police and sheriff’s deputies.

Despite a significant law enforcement presence citywide, Saturday’s demonstration remained peaceful — drawing praise from Mayor Daniel Lurie, who acknowledged the marchers in a social media post around 4:30 p.m.

“Really proud of how San Franciscans showed up this morning and early afternoon,” Lurie said.

Some protesters criticized Lurie for not outright opposing Trump and his administration’s mass immigration arrests and disregard for due process.

Alix McCabe, who carried a sign that read “Unfollow Daniel Lurie,” said the mayor uses social media as a tool of propaganda while neglecting crucial issues, as exemplified by his proposed 7% funding cut to the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs for the city’s 2026-27 budget.

“I think people aren’t seeing what’s going on behind the scenes,” McCabe said. “He said publicly that he wants to defend San Francisco’s status as a sanctuary city. But then when you look at the actual legislation that he’s putting forward, he’s not putting our money towards supporting and defending immigrant families.”

The harsh federal crackdowns on immigrants, student protesters across the country and demonstrators in Los Angeles led numerous local rally goers to shield their identities by using face coverings or declining to provide their names to journalists.

A 22-year-old protester using the pseudonym Parker said he is not an immigrant but was still fearful.

“I’m scared to even show my face,” Parker said. “I could get hunted down. I want to be an American and have my right to protest. I don’t feel safe doing that here, because who knows what’s going to happen? Who’s going to sneak up on me or try to take me somewhere? You know, it’s scary, honestly.”

Parker said that despite his anxiety, he chose to join the march for the people in his life who couldn’t attend since they could be targeted in the immigration crackdown.

“I need to be able to step out of my comfort zone and be able to speak the truth and be able to stand up for what’s right,” he said. “They’re doing terrible things to good people, and I don’t think that’s okay. No, I can’t stand for that.”

Organizers invited several people to speak to the various policies put forward by the Trump administration that they say threaten the most vulnerable.

Among them was Cathy Kennedy, president of the California Nurses Association, who criticized Trump’s prioritization of billionaires over healthcare, highlighting the critical role of Medicaid.

She emphasized the dire effect of the House-passed budget reconciliation bill — touted by its supporters as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” — which calls for a $715 billion cut to Medicaid funding over 10 years, potentially resulting in 13.7 million people losing coverage. Kennedy called for people to contact their representatives and go in person to congressional offices to demand support for healthcare.

Sanika Mahajan of Mission Action led the crowd in chants and said that protesters had halted potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement action earlier that day. Hundreds turned up to march outside the San Francisco Intensive Supervision Appearance Program Office on Tehama Street to protest summons immigrants had received the night before, which activists said could have led to mass arrests. The program offers alternatives to detention designed for immigrants who remain free while their cases are pending with requirements like check-ins, ankle monitors or reporting to ICE when instructed to do so.

According to Mission Local, the office did not open and, while immigrants also received messages instructing them to report to the office on Sunday, it does not appear any immigration operations were carried out on either day.

Organizers also urged people to continue speaking out against immigration arrests and join the San Francisco immigrant defense mobilization list by texting “ICE out” to 33777.

“I want you all to know it’s actually working,” Mahajan said at Saturday’s rally at City Hall. “When we’re united and in the streets, and organized together across all sectors, we can build a fighting movement and we can win more and more.”

Further protests are planned for Sunday, June 22, at Polk and Washington streets at 10:30 a.m. and during the San Francisco Pride Parade the following weekend on Sunday, June 29.