Pasadenans Join Nationwide ‘No Kings’ Protest

Marchers gathered at the reflecting pool at Pasadena City College and moved west along Colorado Boulevard to City Hall on Saturday, their signs and chants folding into a larger national moment: the third “No Kings” day of protest, one of thousands of demonstrations held across the United States and around the world opposing the policies of the Donald Trump administration.

The marchers were led by members of the National Day Laborers Organizing Network, now a familiar sight at local protest rallies and demonstrations. No official crowd size was immediately available from police.

Organizers said Pasadena’s event was one of at least a dozen across Southern California. In Los Angeles, more than 50,000 people were expected at Gloria Molina Grand Park, according to City News Service, while Caltrans prepared security measures along the 101 Freeway. Nationwide, organizers estimated more than 3,000 demonstrations, and demonstrations also took place in several European cities.

Claims that the coordinated protests constitute the largest in U.S. history could not be independently verified; some of the largest single-day protests remain the 2017 Women’s March and the 2020 racial justice demonstrations.

In Pasadena, the march concluded at Centennial Plaza outside City Hall, where a rally unfolded against a backdrop of revolutionary-themed music by the Next Doors, led by Mark Russell and Mika Larsen. The gathering blended speeches from elected officials, clergy and organizers with performances by local students, and a recurring message: participation.

“Maybe some of you are familiar with the 3.5 percent tipping point concept,” said organizer Patrick Briggs, referencing political scientist Erica Chenoweth and her research on nonviolent resistance. “If you get 3.5 percent of the population of this country, we are going to win this battle… But to do that, we need your involvement.” He urged attendees to find a single, sustained way to engage—whether canvassing, attending local meetings or supporting community groups—and to “do that one thing persistently.”

The Rev. Tim Rich framed the day in moral terms, asking the crowd a series of questions—about kindness, nonviolence and justice—to which they responded in unison. “What we’re doing here today… has to be more than a moment,” he said. “It has to be the fuel for a movement.”

Speakers returned repeatedly to concerns about immigration enforcement, civil rights and U.S. foreign policy. Representative Judy Chu told the crowd she had arrived directly from Washington after a late-night vote, and linked the demonstration to both domestic and international issues, including immigration enforcement and military spending.

“That is why I… got on a plane to be with all of you for the No Kings rally,” she said, urging continued protest and civic engagement.

State Senator Sasha Renee Perez emphasized legislative efforts in Sacramento, including measures aimed at increasing oversight of immigration enforcement and protecting legal observers. “Power does not come from the top down,” she said. “It comes from the bottom up.”

For Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo, the message was personal. Recounting his childhood as the son of immigrant parents who lived with the fear of separation, he described a “coffee can” his family kept with emergency documents and cash. “It pains me today to know that there are other five-year-olds… who live in the same fear,” he said, calling on the crowd to “find our common humanity.”

Maddie Briggs, a co-organizer, closed the program by pressing the question of what comes next. “Do we go home and… wait for things to keep getting worse?” she asked. The answer, she said, lay in everyday action—voting, building community networks, or assisting neighbors reluctant to leave their homes.

The Pasadena march was organized by San Gabriel Foothills Indivisible, with the American Civil Liberties Union and All Saints Episcopal Church as partners. City officials said they expected a peaceful demonstration and coordinated with local businesses along the route. Lisa Derderian, Pasadena’s chief communications officer, said organizers had been “very cooperative and respectful” in past events.

As the rally wound down, clusters of attendees lingered in the plaza, exchanging information about volunteer groups and upcoming elections. If the day carried the cadence of protest—chants, speeches, a march through the city—it also leaned on something quieter: the notion, repeated from the stage, that the work would continue after the crowd dispersed.