The echoes of event speakers and protest chants filled the air from Chochenyo Park through Oak Street as hundreds of demonstrators marched to protest President Donald Trump on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
Children, adults, and dogs rallied for the event organized by volunteer organizer Tina Davis. Her efforts were supported by East Bay Fierce, Loving, Organized Women (EB-FLOW), led by Shalom Bruhn, as well as All Rise Alameda. These organizations came together to convey the message that the president is not a king. Alameda’s protest, one of nearly 2,000 that took place consecutively across the 50 states, drew a local turnout of about 3,000 people.
“The goal of the protest today is to let our current leadership know that this is a democracy,” Therese Lahaie, demonstrator, told the Alameda Post. “This is not a fascist nation and we are going to do everything we can to keep from descending into billionaire authoritarianism and fascism.”
The sign Lahaie created for the event drew the attention of fellow demonstrators as it used a sentiment from Robert Reich’s “Notes from the Front Line” and called for people to “JOIN HANDS.” This imagery inspired Lahaie as she sought positive messages that would bring people together for community, recognizing that this is what will drive change.
The demonstration’s participation extended beyond the congregation outside City Hall, as people displayed the Mexican flag over the Oak Street parking garage walls. With the uptick of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids and the conflict in Los Angeles, immigration was a topic on many signs and a motivation for some demonstrators.
“People are not criminals. They are our neighbors, they cut our lawns, they take care of our children, they clean our houses, they pick our fruits,” Alameda resident and activist Deborah Lafergy said to the Post. “You can’t deport them, they are not criminals.”
Not only was this protest against Trump himself, but it also opposed his policies, as immigration restriction is one of his main platforms which has raised contention with people who are pro-immigration.
Slide show from No Kings rally
“When my husband died in November, the last thing he said to me was to ‘protect the immigrants,’ that’s the last thing he said on his deathbed,” Shekinah Shepard, organizer of membership and inclusion for the Third Act activism group, told the Post.
Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi was among the crowd of protesters. He told the Post that he’d been in communication with the promoters of the event.
“I want folks here,” he said. “I think it takes a lot for people to step up and exercise their First Amendment rights. And I think that there’s always that fear that that’s going to be infringed upon. I’m physically here to demonstrate, ‘No, we’re going to safeguard that.’ We’re here to make sure that people are able to exercise their First Amendment right to free speech, and so I plan on marching up with them.”
Some participants attended in wheelchairs and walkers while holding signs about change becoming stagnant in the country. Shepard and numerous other demonstrators have fought for decades.
“Freedom is on the line, you know, women’s freedom,” Shepard said. “I fought for women’s freedom in the ’60s and ’70s, and we’re going backward, not forwards.”
The whole event remained peaceful, with the crowd listening intently to speakers and even singing along with Kimi Sugioka, Alameda’s Poet Laureate, as she took the stage with a rendition of Patti Smith’s “People Have the Power,” to bring a sense of solidarity.
Jeanie Egbert, a veteran and member of All Rise Alameda, told the Post that the democracy she served to preserve is under threat, and protests like “No Kings” are the actions that need to be taken.
“I think that it’s a national way of demonstrating our objections to the actions of this administration in a very powerful way that they have to pay attention to because there are so many of us,” Egbert said.
Many chants were created for the protests, with “No king! No crown! We the people won’t back down!” called out most often, with unwavering fists punching up. Although the protest was against the current administration, mini-American Flags were seen throughout the group, stuck in hat brims or waved high in the air.
“I am passionate about this protest because people are suffering,” Lafergy said. “What I have been focusing on is uniting—Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents—we’re all suffering and we’ll be feeling more pain coming up, we have to unite.”
6/18/25 Update: The article originally stated that All Rise Alameda was the organizer of the event. The copy has been updated to include the involvement of additional organizations and clarify that the main organizer of the Alameda protest was Tina Davis.
Giuliana Means is a contributing writer for the Alameda Post. Contact her via [email protected].
