Citizens from around the Orange County area gathered on the morning of Saturday, October 18th at the Huntington Beach Pier to protest what they describe as authoritarian policies by Donald Trump, and the overall corruption brought on by his administration.
A No Kings volunteer had informed me that the previous No Kings protest in Huntington Beach totaled around 5,000, and he would not be surprised if this one had amassed the same. Protestors were piled on both sides of Pacific Coast Highway, from First to Sixth street.
In the early moments of the protest, there seemed to be an argument brewing between a protester and a man holding a “Know the God of the Bible” sign. Although difficult to hear the exact argument, sharp remarks such as “you don’t know your history,” and “read revelations” could be heard. Fellow protestors were chiming in, yelling “love thy neighbor as you love yourself,” and snapping back with “get out, shut up, go home!”
The man holding the sign, who I later got to know as John, age 64, of Huntington Beach, was explaining that he wanted to bring people to the lord and save them from going to hell. In the same breath, he explained that Democrats are apparently pro–baby killing, pro–abortion, and full-time liars: “Democrats are for abortion, killing babies, and lying, they lie all over the place, all their politicians lie, all their news networks lie.”
At around 12:30 pm, the Huntington Beach No Kings protest was at its height as protesters lined both sides of Pacific Coast Highway near the pier. When the walk signs turned on, passionate people of all ages started walking while chanting “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go!” exchanging smiles as they walked past one another.
The main quad of downtown Huntington, usually seen as a very conservative spot, was filled with voices wanting to get the current president out of office. While hearing this chant, locals could see large “No Kings in America” flags flying in the wind, along with a guy dressed up as Big Foot holding a sign that reads “Things in hiding ‘Big Foot, no. Epstein files, yes.’”
Kelly, age 64 of Westminster, mentioned that she was a registered Republican in 1978 and spoke on the moment she vowed to never support Trump, “I heard him say ‘You can do anything, you can grab ‘em by the pussy when you’re rich and famous’ that was a no, and they said it was locker room talk,” she continues “my father and my uncles would not ever ever use those words if they knew no one would ever hear them, and it does not matter what kind of business man you think he is, he does not respect women, he is a lying pig,” she finished passionately. Kelly can be found on TikTok as CaliforniaKelly$.
While talking to a No Kings volunteer, a fellow worker walked by and said a neo-nazi was spotted with a face covering, and to keep an eye out for him. This is not a new site for Huntington Beach; following the assasination of conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk, a group of white supremacists in black face coverings marched around downtown chanting “white man fight back!” over and over.
About a half hour later, I was writing something down in my journal when I looked up to see a white man who stood around 5’11” wearing a black bandana around his face, Bass Pro hat, sunglasses, all black shirt, pants, and boots, along with a white bandage around his forearm where the supposed nazi tattoo should be. He was walking along the length of the PCH with a woman around 65 years old following him recording on her phone, a precautious measure in case harm were to be inflicted. She followed him all the way until he crossed at 6th street, before saying to me, “he did not stop once before crossing the street, thank you for having my back.”
Maria, age 62 of Fountain Valley, originally from Brooklyn, New York, spoke on the importance of getting out and using your voice, “I have been sitting on the couch, crying or cursing at the TV and so now it was time to do something, you cannot just complain,” going on she says, “It’s getting too serious and so now it’s time to march, now it’s time to write whoever I need to write and do more because it’s really terrible what I’m seeing,” she says earnestly. I noticed she was wearing a hat from the novel and TV series The Handmaid’s Tale and asked what she was representing, she goes on, “Women, freedom, rights. Everything is just being taken away, I mean I just, I can’t even believe it. After watching the whole series, then watching all of this happen in the real world, it’s insane, very frightening.”
Although there was a lot of colorful language and serious allegations written on signs, protestors shared smiles, laughs, and an overwhelming sense of camaraderie. Cars drove by honking in agreement and yelling out support. At one point I spotted a Willys MB Jeep with two older veterans wearing their army hats, yelling out “No kings here!” while pumping fists in the air. A group of sport bikers rode by, and were able to steadily take one hand off to give a thumbs up to those holding signs. With the sun beaming and a high of 84 degrees, there were multiple protestors who brought wagons full of extra water bottles and distributed them to anyone who needed some hydration.
It was admirable to see the age range of attendees go from chirpy children to veterans bound in wheelchairs. I made it a point to talk to one of many elders that attended this event. Richard Armendaris, age 89 of Huntington Beach, was holding a large Yes on 50 sign and spoke on the importance of this special election, “Trump asked for five new congressional seats and Texas took away the seats from Democrats and gave them to Republicans, so I’m here to make sure everyone knows you have to vote yes on 50,” he also goes on to mention his disappointment with Trump in office, “We thought Dick Nixon was tricky and nasty, but he’s worse than Dick Nixon, he is terrible,” he said.
Although there was not an organized anti-protest group, there were about ten guys, along with three women, sitting on bikes near the entrance of the pier wearing MAGA hats, shirts, and shorts – all showing support for the current president in some way. I got the chance to talk to one who I observed get into many arguments with protesters.
MAGA anonymous (did not want to be “doxxed”), age 55 of Huntington Beach, mentioned how he thinks the protestors are misinformed, “Most of them probably get their information from CNN or the mass media, I mean the left got control of academia, social media, Hollywood, and mainstream media, they all parrot each other as far as the message,” when I inquired who he trusts for information he responds, “They’ll say the right looks at Fox and Newsmax but then you gotta do a deeper dive, other sources of information, I have my own eyes,” he said.
The purpose of this nationwide peaceful protest, which totaled over seven million protesters in the U.S., was to demonstrate a resistance to tyranny. The No Kings official website states, “Because this country does not belong to kings, dictators, or tyrants. It belongs to We the People — the people who care, who show up, and who fight for dignity, a life we can afford, and real opportunity. No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings.”