Thousands take to Inland Empire streets for ‘No Kings’ protests

Originally published through KVCR Public Media. Founder Anthony Victoria is a general news reporter and public radio producer.

Thousands poured into streets across Inland Empire cities Saturday as part of nationwide “No Kings” protests against the Trump administration’s immigration raids, military deployments in Southern California and cuts to health and social services.

While most demonstrations remained peaceful, a hit-and-run in Riverside left one person injured.

In Corona, hundreds gathered around 10 a.m. at the intersection of Ontario Road and Rimpau Avenue, braving the heat to wave flags and hoist protest signs.

Corona resident Natalie Trabert said she joined the “No Kings” protest because she opposes Trump’s immigration policies and believes constitutional rights should apply to everyone.

“It’s just criminal, the way ICE is camping out at immigration offices, waiting for people who are checking in legally,” Trabert said. “I didn’t vote for this. But even if you did, it’s OK to change your mind when you see what’s really happening.”

Protester Mark Pavelchak says he joined the protests because he’s deeply concerned about the direction the country is heading.

“Whether it’s destroying the economy, or removing all the scientists and talented people who actually know how to run a country,” said Pavelchak, “and replacing them with people who just say what Trump wants…that’s very scary.”

In Fontana, people met at City Hall around noon and marched through downtown. By late afternoon, large crowds had taken over the corners of the busy Sierra Avenue and Foothill Boulevard intersections.

Isabel Reyes and her parents joined the Fontana protest to honor her Mexican immigrant roots and speak up for undocumented immigrants.

“I'm out here because I know that my grandma and my grandpa sacrificed so much to come here,” said Reyes. “Today, my grandpa is no longer with us, but I know that he would want us out here advocating.”

In Riverside, more than a thousand people marched through downtown for five hours in the evening. According to The Riverside Record, police maintained a presence mainly to protect government buildings and monitor the crowd.

But there was a chaotic scene later in the night when around 9:40 p.m., a woman was seriously injured after a driver in a dark SUV plowed through a crowd on University Avenue between Main Street and Orange Avenue.

Police said the felony hit-and-run happened after several protesters surrounded the vehicle. The driver accelerated and sped away without stopping.

Video posted to social media shows demonstrators gathered around the SUV before it turns and drives through the crowd. A voice can be heard shouting, “They just ran over my sister!”

Officers said the injured woman was hospitalized with significant injuries and that the search for the suspect was underway.

Protests also took place in Rancho Cucamonga, Beaumont, Temecula, Palm Springs and the San Bernardino mountain communities of Blue Jay and Big Bear.

City News Service contributed to this report