On Oct. 18, 2025, an estimated four thousand people gathered in front of The Cheech Marin Center in downtown Riverside in support of Indivisible Riverside’s “No Kings Protest.” Millions of civilians across the nation joined in America’s second No Kings Day Action.
The No Kings Day protest was kicked off by immigrant activist and content creator Alan Vargas. Ramping up the community at hand, Vargas states, “[The government’s] not fighting for a democracy! They’re fighting to take away our rights, take away our democracy, and make sure that only billionaires are having a seat at that table.”
Reflecting on the many events transpiring in the area, Vargas shares how he has seen teenagers being arrested at administration facilities and of how he has been profiled by law enforcement for being Latino. “We know that [the government is] digging deeper into Hell. Hell has many layers at this point with this administration. While I’m still biding my time until we know what we’re doing, we’re gonna make sure that we’re gonna be so loud so people unite!
He ends his time in front of the crowd by ramping them up with the cheer: “Stranger danger, there’s a pedo in the White House!” referring to the sexual assault allegations made against current United States President Donald J. Trump.
Justice advocate, Jacob Daruvala, showed up in a zoot suit to the protest, carrying a story of advocates long past and a mission of his own. “My great grandfather was a Zoot Suiter, and my grandfather was Rudy Salas Jr. who is the leader of the band Tierra,” Daruvala explains, “They fought their whole lives for Latino rights, and I felt that to reflect their legacy, I would show up in the same outfits they used to wear.”
Explaining why the protest is important to him personally, Daruvala states, “It’s a legacy I have to be out here and fight for the freedoms that my grandparents and parents fought for me to have, that we are now in danger of losing today.”
On the other end, Chad Bianco, American law enforcement officer, current sheriff of Riverside county and aspiring California Governor released a statement on his account on X: “No Kings Protestors — I will be there to protect your First Amendment rights. But know this, while I’m there, we will arrest anyone and everyone who terrorizes Riverside County.”
Various community organizations and Riverside locals were present at the protest. Attendance included but was not limited to Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 721, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 4811 and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Many showed up wearing yellow, the reason behind it, “throughout history, people who have come together in protest against authoritarian regimes have utilized a color that is easy to see among a sea of thousands.” In terms of the No Kings Protest, yellow serves as “a bright, unmistakable reminder that millions of us stand together in the belief that America belongs to its people, not to kings.”
Both the Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside and the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Riverside did their part in the protest. The former opened up their bathrooms for protestors and handed out water to combat dehydration, sharing, “It’s our community outreach, it’s what we do. I wasn’t particular about the marching and all that, but it’s the least we can do for them.” The latter rang their bells in support of the movement.
For Kristina, a Riverside local of 40 years, the reason why she showed up to the protest was simple. She shares, “I’m here to use my first amendment rights. If we don’t speak up now, it’ll be taken away from us too.”
For another protestor, they establish, “This might be our last hurrah, we need to show up in numbers because protestors aren’t safe anymore.”
