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Thousands gathered at Travis Park in downtown San Antonio for Saturday’s “No Kings” protest, then marched through downtown streets, filling blocks with signs, banners and chants, as they have twice before since the re-election of Donald Trump.
The march was organized by the 50501 Movement, which has coordinated dozens of similar demonstrations across the country. Local organizer Peter Bella said the protest reflects a growing divide between federal leadership and local communities.
“The main message is that there's a real schism between what the federal government is doing and what people in the city want,” Bella said. “We’re out here to raise our voices and say what we want, which is no kings.”
People filled downtown streets around Travis Park with signs and chants centered on government accountability and opposition to authoritarianism.
Demonstrators carried handmade signs reading “Stop the chaos, cruelty and corruption” and “Practice radical empathy.” Others referenced American history with messages like “250 yrs and we still don’t want a king,” while some signs addressed global issues, including “Women say no to war.”
The march moved through downtown streets, drawing thousands and stretching across intersections as participants chanted and raised signs above traffic.
State Rep. Josey Garcia, D-San Antonio, was among those in attendance. She said Americans are witnessing their rights being eroded.
“We've witnessed a coveting of pedophilia in our country. We have yet to have accountability or even transparency when it comes to the Epstein files,” Garcia said. “However, our federal government has done great with making sure that they terrorize our communities, make children and families afraid to go to school because they might get unjustly swept up in a very broken immigration system.”
Speakers addressed the crowd from a stage set up in Travis Park before the march began.
Alejandra Lopez, president of the San Antonio Alliance of Teachers and Support Personnel, said the demonstration comes amid growing concerns over federal actions.
“We remind our wannabe dictator in chief that Americans suffer no kings, that we don't cower before dictators, that we, the American people, hold the power in this land,” Lopez told attendees.
The crowd included longtime activists and first-time participants.
Eric Ayers, a protester, said continuing to show up is part of the responsibility of citizenship.
“The way that things are happening in our country right now, we have to speak up,” Ayers said. “At this point, there's no choice. If you believe in the country and in our founding principles, you should be out here too.”
Isabella Muzquiz, a San Antonio resident, said she was motivated to protest in part by her experiences growing up during earlier wars in the Middle East.
“I grew up with the experience of having family that joined the military, that saw Afghanistan, saw Iraq,” she said. “While these are different situations, I’m seeing similar patterns — but now it feels more blatant, more disrespectful to the public, more disconnected from what people want.”
She said she has also seen increased civic engagement in her community.
“I know that our voter turnout for our last local elections was really strong democratically, which I found really refreshing. I've seen more people becoming engaged and wanting to do something about what they’re seeing,” she said.
Similar rallies were held across the region in Boerne, Kerrville, Fredericksburg, New Braunfels, Dripping Springs and Marble Falls — communities that typically vote Republican.
“The issues range from unfair tariffs affecting small businesses and individuals, threats to freedom of speech and religion, immigration policy changes and detainments, and voter suppression to the recent U.S. attacks and subsequent war on Iran,” said the Cibolo Creek Indivisible chapter in a statement.
Protester Vie Dunn-Harr said the erosion of democratic norms is concerning.
“I think just my concern for our country. It seems all the checks and balances are thrown out the window,” Dunn-Harr said. “This is actually scary. But we’re not the kind of people that run when we’re afraid. We fight for what we want, and that is democracy.”
“We didn’t want a king, and we won’t have one,” Dunn-Harr added. “So we had to get in the streets and keep telling our representatives… you’ve got to stand up.”
