Protesters Gather in the Thousands for “No Kings” Rallies in Carpinteria and Santa Barbara
Tracy Lehr
CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KEYT) – Thousands of people attended “No Kings” protests up and down the Central Coast and around the nation on Saturday.
News Channel’s Kevin McClarty captured some of the march in Santa Barbara.
“There are so many things that have happened, so many videos of how people are being treated. We had ICE come here in Carpentaria, pick up people. There’s a lot of more concern,” one protester said.
Tensions in the small community of Carpinteria have been high since initial federal agent spottings and arrests earlier in the year.
In July, federal agents stormed marijuana farms outside of Camarillo and in Carpinteria arresting hundreds of people, including 14 children, and the enforcement operation led to multiple injuries and one man, Jaime Garcia -a worker at the Camarillo location- died from head and neck trauma days after falling 30 feet during the raid.
“My uncle Jaime was just a hard-working, innocent farmer. He has his wife and daughter waiting for him. He was chased by ICE agents, and we were told he fell 30ft,” wrote his family in a GoFundMe post. “He was his family’s only provider. They took one of our family members. We need justice.”
The first ever “No Kings” rallies took place around the country in June protesting the Trump administration and immigration enforcement – but protesters say the threat is still prevalent, and only getting harsher.
Community members gathered in Alameda Park in Santa Barbara to join the demonstration – arriving in the thousands.
While many attendees shared they feel fearful for the future, they won’t let that feeling overpower their fight.
“They’re trying to keep us down and shut us up, but we’re not going to shut up and we’re not going to go home and hide in our homes,” a protester said.
The Trump administration has condemned these demonstrations, with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson referring to these weekend’s events as “Hate America” rallies.
“I think it’s very concerning when I hear that these are ‘Hate America’ protests because they’re not. They’re people that really love this country,” a protester said.
“I think we’re enjoying being American, actually. I think the First Amendment gives us the right to say what we want and to demonstrate,” said another protester.