'No Kings' protest draws thousands to Inland Empire streets in mass rebuke of Trump Administration

On Saturday, Oct. 18, thousands of protesters opposing the Trump Administration descended upon street corners and major intersections across the Inland Empire during the "No Kings" protest, the second since June. 

Demonstrations took place in several cities, including Redlands, Riverside, Fontana, Ontario, San Bernardino and Rancho Cucamonga. 

Attendees described a range of concerns, from economic policies to democratic values.

In Ontario, at Euclid and Holt, The Frontline Observer spoke with Karen May, a Service Employees International Union representative. She expressed frustration with Trump’s policies, which, in her view, hurt working class families while primarily benefiting billionaires. 

“The majority of people in this country support democracy, support unions, support working people, support health care,” May said. “We know that the big, ugly Bill cut billions and billions of dollars from critical programs like SNAP and Medicare, Medi-Cal, and where's that money going? It's going into the pocket of billionaires in tax cuts.”

Additionally, May emphasized the demands of the political moment, citing bravery and visible public dissent as necessary for political action. 

“Courage is contagious,” she said. “They need to see us out here. We need to be visible. The only way we’re going to protect our rights is if we exercise them on a daily basis.”

Participating in the rally held at Redlands on their date night, Chris and Danielle Verdugo, dressed as a bear and blue monster, respectively, specified the importance of safeguarding democracy for their children.

“I'm here for our kids' future,” Danielle Verdugo said. “We just want the best for them. We don't think that the country's headed that way right now.”

Adding to his wife’s comment, Chris Verdugo elaborated on the kind of society he wants to live in. 

“We just want our kids to grow up in a community and country overall that can show them that everybody's accepted and everybody's loved,” he said, adding that, “We are very into going out into nature and being in our national parks, and that’s a big thing for us.”

While some Republicans, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, have called the "No Kings" protest “hate America” rallies, U.S. Army veteran Sean Dare, dressed in military uniform, challenged that framing. 

“The media keeps trying to paint this as an I hate America rally,” Dare said. “This is an I love America rally,” he declared, as he gestured to the multi-generational crowd marching, picketing, and chanting up and down Orange Street and Redlands Boulevard—a spot organizers call “Peace Corner—a display of the democratic values he swore to protect. 

“My oath was to the Constitution and the people, not to a wannabe king,” he said. “Fascism will not win.”