A person calling himself “Dandidi” protests for liberty at the No Kings Day of Peaceful Action in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The Big Picture –
By Glynn Wilson –

COULTERVILLE, Calif. – If I was on the radio, I’m not yet, I might play a song this morning by Waylon Jennings, “It’s The World’s Gone Crazy.”

If I was still covering daily news and politics in Washington, D.C., I’m not, this is the news for today. From here. Of course remember what George Carlin said. You can’t say Fuck on the radio.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across America and California on Saturday for protest demonstrations against President Donald F. (Fuckhead) Trump under the moniker: “No Kings.”

According to the somewhat fucked up LA Times, demonstrators portrayed the commander in (cheat) as an aspiring monarch “as he continues to engage in what critics argue is government overreach.”

Ya think?

In Grand Park, they report, protesters gathered under the shade of a 20-foot inflatable of Trump in a diaper as a band belted out an Epstein files-themed parody of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.” Protesters draped in LGBTQ+, Mexican and American flags held signs that read “Liberty,” “No Kings” and “Veto the Cheeto.”

“We’re here to fight fascism, and we’re not afraid,” said 25-year-old Jess Sanchez, who has had family members targeted in recent immigration raids. “This is our city and our country.”

The gathering in Grand Park was just one of thousands that unfolded across the country on Saturday as part of a nationwide effort to oppose not only the president but his administration’s policies on immigration, education, healthcare and environmental protections.

More than 2,700 “No Kings” demonstrations were scheduled across the country, roughly 600 more events than in June. Demonstrations in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Boston drew massive crowds.

Back in June, roughly 5 million demonstrators rallied across the nation for the first “No Kings” protests as the Trump administration’s agenda began coming into focus. At that time, the Department of Homeland Security had begun carrying out large-scale immigration raids across Southern California, and Trump deployed military troops to Los Angeles in response to mass protests.

Since then, many Americans believe that Trump’s actions — doubling down on immigration raids in major cities, deploying National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., and embarking on an aggressive campaign against political opponents — have only become more severe.

Some protesters tried to bring some levity to the seriousness of the day. A cohort of people in inflatable costumes — dinosaurs, chickens and sharks — strolled through the crowd, an adoption of a recent strategy undertaken by protesters in Oregon meant to ease tensions and signal nonviolence.

But for Matt Faw, a documentary filmmaker, his Uncle Sam costume was intended to make a point. The costume was his way of criticizing what he said was the Trump administration’s misappropriation of American symbols.

“The symbols of America have been stolen by people who want to insist that America means white, Christian patriarchal power,” Faw said. “As opposed to what I see … which is groups that are very different from each other learning to get along and form a better union together.”

Faw said he generally attends such protests as an observer with his camera in hand. But this time, fear and fury drove him to get more involved.

“I’m afraid that it’s happening so fast that we won’t be able to get the country back that I grew up in,” he added.

California Governor Gavin Newsom urged protesters to demonstrate peacefully, saying in a statement that “our strength is in our unity.”

“The values Americans cherish are under assault by [Trump],” he said. “THIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and California will keep peacefully pushing back against the Trump Administration’s authoritarian takeover.”

In Long Beach, thousands of protesters packed the bluff along Ocean Boulevard, cheering amid a chorus of honking horns. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) posed for a photograph with another attendee holding a sign that read: “Fascists have small dictators.”

“NO KINGS in Long Beach,” he wrote on social media. “So proud of our city for turning out and opposing Trump.”

In San Diego, police said more than 25,000 people showed up to rallies across the city. There were no arrests, officials said.

In an attempt to broaden the scope of “No Kings,” organizers appealed to Americans upset over the rising cost of living, gutting of environmental protections, sweeping overhauls of federal agencies, and the government shutdown over looming healthcare cuts.

Organizers say the goal of “No Kings” goes beyond just getting Americans out on the streets by aiming to connect people who are upset and frustrated with the Trump administration to local organizing groups.

Podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen roused the crowd at Grand Park, pointing to the scope of the “No Kings” protests nationwide.

“Millions of people taking to the streets right now destroys the optics of Donald Trump having total control of this country,” Cohen said. “We are here because we love America. We are here because this is a country worth fighting for.”

By 3 p.m., the downtown Los Angeles crowd of thousands had mobilized down 1st Street and clogged the avenue. Protesters chanted and waved signs and flags.

Some made calls for the government to observe the Constitution, such as one that cited the 5th Amendment on due process. Others, however, were written in more plain language. “ICE sucks,“ one read.

Rachel Edler of Los Angeles and her young son, Hardy, were among those in downtown LA.

Edler said she brought her child to the protest to answer questions he had about the administration’s actions in Los Angeles. “He wanted to know why people had voted for [Trump] in the first place and I came here to help answer that question and help him understand why people were upset.”

By the late afternoon, a group of about 100 to 200 protesters came face to face with LAPD officers who were tasked with protecting the Metropolitan Detention Center, according to an officer on the scene.

With megaphones and signs in hand, the protesters remained peaceful. “A lot of the people were trying to remain nonviolent,“ said Will Clarke of LA.

Saturday’s rallies took place amid a big disruption to one of Southern California’s major freeways.

The state announced Saturday morning that it would close a 17-mile stretch of Interstate 5 for several hours after military officials confirmed that live-fire artillery rounds would be shot over the freeway during a Marine Corps event at Camp Pendleton. The unprecedented closure caused massive gridlock and confusion but appeared to have little effect on the day’s demonstrations.

Reporting on that debacle, the Times said that “Gridlock reigned Saturday on one of California’s most vital freeways after state officials closed a 17-mile stretch of Interstate 5 in response to a pre-planned event in which live-fire artillery rounds were shot over the freeway at Camp Pendleton.”

The full closure of the main route between Los Angeles and San Diego was brief, they report, but it caused massive traffic jams across San Diego and Orange counties. Exits from the freeway onto surface streets were clogged. Many motorists were forced to take a jammed Interstate 15. The inland detour swelled drive times from L.A. to San Diego to well over three hours as of Saturday afternoon. That was an hourlong delay over typical conditions. By 5 p.m., traffic was finally getting back to normal and much of Interstate 5 was moving at normal speeds.

“The closure marked another clash between the Trump administration and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom,” they report.

Newsom criticized the White House for failing to coordinate or share safety information ahead of the Marine Corps 250th anniversary celebration, which featured Vice President JD Vance.

“It is not safe for people to drive on a major freeway at high speeds directly under LIVE MUNITIONS,” his office wrote on X. “White House not communicating, endangering the public, and then trying to blame the Governor for doing the right thing — keeping people out of harm’s way — yet another day living in Trump’s authoritarian America.”

But by midmorning on Saturday, the southbound 5 Freeway ground to a halt about half a mile ahead of the El Camino Real exit, the second-to-last exit before the previously announced interstate closure.

The previous three freeway exits — Avenida Palizada, Avenida Pico and Avenida Vista Hermosa — all had flashing freeways signs warning of the impending closure.

“Motorists who were brave or foolish enough to venture beyond Avenida Palizada endured a minimum of 30 minutes trying to exit the freeway,” they report.

San Clemente City Councilmember Mark Enmeier said that the freeway closure came “completely out of the blue” and that he found out about it just as many residents did on Saturday morning when the Orange County Sheriff’s Department announced it publicly on Instagram.

“There was no coordination with any local officials on this whatsoever,” Enmeier said. Or if there was, he said, “I was not informed of it.”

The midmorning closure stretched from Harbor Drive in Oceanside to Basilone Road near San Onofre. Some vehicles on the interstate illegally made nearly 90-degree turns on the freeway heading southbound to break through the bottleneck by exiting the vacant El Camino Real onramp for about 15 minutes. A California Highway Patrol officer eventually rode up the ramp and shut off access.

McKean told The Times he’s been in meetings with Camp Pendleton officials about the celebration for the last month. The closure of the interstate “came up overnight from Governor Newsom’s office.”

In a statement to The Times, the city of Oceanside said it was notified of the interstate closure at 7:30 a.m. via a California Highway Patrol update.

“Marine Corps was not even aware that [the interstate] was going to be closed, this was something from Sacramento to Cal Trans to CHP,” McKean said.

Saturday’s closure brought a deepening strain between California and the Trump administration — which has been escalating in recent months after the White House deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles to clamp down on protests, ramped up immigration raids and pressured California universities to comply with his agenda.

To Enmeier, the live-ammunition event is a “show of force on behalf of a few individuals” more than likely intentionally timed to this day of widespread protest. Plus, he said the freeway closure is a source of needless financial strain.

“Not only are we paying as a taxpayer for these shows of force, we’re also losing money,” Enmeier said. “I mean, this is a major arterial road, and there’s no other way down to San Diego from Orange County without taking an hour-and-a-half detour.”

The event took about an hour and involved nine warships as well as helicopters launching an “attack on a beach” near the 5, which brought cheers from the estimated 15,000 in attendance, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.

Military helicopters fly over Camp Pendleton during a temporary closure of Interstate 5 on Saturday. (Jonathan Alcorn / For The Times)

The military show of force coincided with “No Kings” rallies and marches across the state Saturday challenging President Trump and what critics say is government overreach.

“Using our military to intimidate people you disagree with isn’t strength — it’s reckless, it’s disrespectful, and it’s beneath the office he holds,” Newsom said in a statement. “Law and order? This is chaos and confusion.”

The Trump administration previously had plans for a major celebration next month for the 250th anniversary of the Navy and Marines, which would have included an air and sea show — with the Blue Angels and parading warships — to be attended by Trump, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, but plans to host that show in San Diego have been called off.

Camp Pendleton is a 125,000-acre base in northwestern San Diego County that has been critical in preparing troops for amphibious missions since World War II thanks to its miles of beach and coastal hills. Yet the U.S. Department of Defense is considering making a portion of the base available for development or lease.

What a country we have become. I would rather be watching a symphony orchestra concert in Yosemite, which is where I will be next Sunday.

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