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Several thousand protesters gathered at Travis Park in downtown San Antonio on Saturday to denounce the Trump administration.
Temperatures were in the mid-90s, but that didn't deter big crowds from convening—including some in costumes.
It was one of some 2,600 No Kings events happening across the country this weekend.
The local organizers of San Antonio’s No Kings rally stressed that the protest would be nonviolent.
According to a statement, 50501 SATX coordinated the event with the support of the Bexar County Democratic Party, San Antonio Alliance Local 67, the Indivisible Project and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
It was the second No Kings rally this year, the first one having occurred on June 14 when Trump coordinated a large, lavish military parade in his own honor.
Saturday's marches and rallies were expected to have record-breaking crowds surpassing the June masses of demonstrators. It's widely reported that 7 million people participated in the marches and rallies across the country.
Lead organizer for the nonprofit 50501, Alex Svehla also anticipated large crowds in San Antonio.
Svehla told TPR that there were personnel deployed during the march to avert any problems with agitators.
“So we have a safety team that is in the double digits, and we've also one of the organizations we're teaming up with, they also provide double digit safety people for us,” he said. “So all these people have been doing a lot of appropriate training to deal with the various situations that could arise at the event.”
The rallies and marches were intended to bring attention to attacks on free speech, inhumane treatment of immigrants, and federal workers being laid off across the country. Others fear this is only the beginning and that things could get much worse.
Lee Kurtz marched at the rally. He believes that what is currently happening in the U.S. portends a dangerous shift, and more Americans should be worried about our democracy. “I’ve been saying for a long time Americans believe or feel or think that 'it can't happen here,' and I just have a real hard time comprehending how you could not think it could happen here.”
“We're just out here to support democracy and freedom," Kurtz continued, " and we need to show this guy (President Trump) that there are a lot of people that aren't happy with what's going on in this country, and we're doing it peacefully, and that's the way it should be.”
A woman at the rally who would only give her first name, Lucy, asked a series of questions to explain why she was at there.
“Have they seen what ice is doing in Chicago? Have they seen what ice is doing in Portland? Have they seen what ice has done on the streets of San Antonio?" she asked. "I don't think it's hyperbole to say that democracy is under attack when we are not following the rule of law, when we disregard tenets of our Constitution, when we refuse to swear in elected officials.”
Organized groups of military veterans also attended the rallies across the country, including the one in San Antonio. They have expressed the idea that the Constitution they have defended is under attack —within the United States.
“I think when it comes to defending our Constitution, I am exactly what the stereotype is (of) those of us that served in the military," said John Glenn Hancock.
He wore a U.S. Air Force T-shirt and cap and carried an American flag. "This is what we actually had signed up to do, was to defend our country, both foreign and domestic. And this is very domestic,” he added.
Among the many speakers who rallied the crowds were Texas Sen. Roland Gutierrez and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro. Both of them were warmly received by the crowds.
Overall, the event was peaceful. No arrests were reported among the protesters who met at Travis Park and marched through downtown San Antonio.
