sbrobert
Not sure that I can add much to the No Kings Rally article that was already posted. But I will offer my photos and videos and a few observations. Here are my photos.
This event was quite unique for being a mostly quiet assembly of thousands of local residents who stood with signs expressing their concern that our country is drifting toward “Fascism”. A term used in many of the signs. There were no speeches or program. Just silent witness.
The first sign we encountered when we arrived was probably my favorite, held by this smiling young woman:
Immigrants Make America Taste Better
Years of psychology research has shown that liberals are attracted to what is different, whereas conservatives feel fear or even panic if they encounter anything “foreign”. This sign expresses the positive liberal view that immigrants enrich our country. Literally by making things taste better.
This young woman reminds us that Trump’s wives are immigrants.
On the Fascist theme, here was one example of concern.
TACO stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out”. This seemed to be the case on the eve of these nationwide protests, when Trump called on ICE to stop the raids on farm workers and domestic workers. But as I write this he is reversing his reversal. Saying explicitly that he wants to target cities run by Democrats. That is indeed fascism to use government power to target political opponents. It is also important to note that almost every city in America is run by Democrats. Even in the Red States.
Many of Trump’s actions seem to have little point other than cruelty. They do nothing to improve the lives of Americans and do a lot to make our lives worse. Arresting Americans who have lived here as productive members of our community for decades hurts everyone. They have patiently waited decades for a path to legal status and the Republicans have blocked every measure. I am reminded of my Jewish ancestors in Europe who often had no legal status and no option for legal status. Being “illegal” is not a property of immigrants. It is a property of a broken and cruel government.
This woman carried a display reminding us of the words of Anne Frank and the terror that she and millions of other Jews experienced. “Terrible things are happening outside. At any time of night and day, poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes.” Exactly as Trump is doing to hard working members of our community who are treated as “the other”.
Flags and patriotic themes were everywhere. Reminding us that Trump’s fascist tendencies go against everything that the Founders of our country believed in. Almost every action he has taken is a direct violation of our Constitution. The Constitution gives almost all power to Congress. Only Congress has the power to raise tariffs, for example. If Congress does not do so, it is still illegal for Trump to do so. Please read the Constitution. It will take you fifteen minutes if you are a slow reader.
The official event start was at 11:00AM, but people were asked to arrive at 10:30 to have time to find a spot. We arrived at 10:00AM and the crowd already filled most of the 1.5 mile stretch along the beach from Castillo to Milpas. Meaning there were many thousands of participants in our small town. We didn’t venture very far, mostly staying in the area near Calle Cesar Chavez.
There was supposed to be an official drone video made at 11AM. We saw a drone fly over at 11:30, but I am not sure where that video will be shown.
Here is a very short video I made with my little drone that just shows the area near us, with a view toward Milpas. It gives a sense of how people were arrayed the whole way with no breaks.
Clowns and corruption were two common themes and this guy visibly expressed both views.
This administration is all about corruption and benefits for billionaires. Immigrants are used to distract people from the real mission as shown in the sign at left. The other sign expressed another common theme. That Trump is a very weak and frustrated man who felt that no one respected him for most of his life. And now he is going to exact “vengeance” (his word). But it doesn’t change his weakness.
This group held up a series of signs expressing Trump’s textbook fascist actions. When he shuts down the National Institutes of Health or USAID or slashes funding for PBS it has nothing to do with saving money. It is a direct attack on science and the arts. Trump has declared war against educated Americans. He tells his base that this is his vengeance that is also their vengeance. Again, a distraction as he robs us all of our money and our future.
Cameron Benson has been a staffer for various elected officials and has worked for local government in various roles, especially protecting the environment. He dressed up as a lion to warn us to oppose “Lyin’ Kings”.
Speaking of the environment, Merlie made the only sign I saw with the words “Climate Crisis”. While Trump distracts us with lies about immigrants the physics of climate relentlessly carries on. Our spaceship Earth is about to be hit with the asteroid of climate change and we are running out of time to divert it. Merlie stands with my longtime friend Danielle. Danielle has been working for justice since we were both at UCSB in the 1980s.
This group represented “The Handmaid’s Tale”.
These young people stood with signs with a new verse of “America The Beautiful”. They handed out fliers with the words and invited people to sing along.
We were pleased to see many young people doing their patriotic duty of expressing support for justice. Many were from City College but they came on their own, not as part of an organized group.
As the crowd began to spread out after 11:30AM, people spontaneously formed little parades and made chants.
People are clearly energized to keep protesting and organizing until law, democracy, justice and humanity are restored. Indivisible Santa Barbara has a Facebook page here where you can find out what is happening next. And a link to sign up for their email list.
https://www.facebook.com/indivisiblesantabarbara
– Robert Bernstein
As always, many thanks, Robert!
Thank you for the great images.
It was such an amazing experience.
So great to feel the camaraderie and support of thousands of smiling (and singing) faces.
We are not alone.
Drone videos from Ann Shaw give a better perspective on the scale of this event. She kindly shared her videos with me and here are some frames I grabbed from them. Click on a thumbnail image to see the full resolution image.
https://swt.org/act/nokings-2025-0614/annshawdroneframegrabs/
@yin yang and @greytfull Thank you for the kind words about the event and about my photos. It was indeed heartwarming to feel the camaraderie of so many thousands of our neighbors. We must always remember that many of our neighbors currently have no path to legal status and they are Americans and part of our community, too!
Hi Robert, thanks for the text and photos. I came all the way from Ventura to be part of the SB crowd. People were smiling, friendly and clever with their signs. There was a feeling of hope and resistance. I will note that there were no cops around, they were not needed as this was peaceful. I’m sure they were watchful, but hey, it was a beautiful day.
Meanwhile, back in Ventura we also had a No Kings Day like SB’s but no beach!
I’d like to use a photo or two for Condor Call if that’s okay.
~ Condor John
@gnusman Thank you for the kind words about the event and about my photos. Please email me directly regarding using the photos. Thanks!
Florida Man:
(Lewis Carroll has entered the court house)
“A federal judge in Miami held Florida’s attorney general, James Uthmeier, in contempt of court for continuing to enforce an immigration law she blocked, and bragging about it in media interviews afterwards.
District court judge Kathleen Williams pointed to Uthmeier’s defiance in a scorching ruling on Tuesday afternoon that accused the Republican of twisting words in her April stay of a February law making it a state crime for undocumented aliens to enter Florida.
“Respect for the integrity of court orders is of paramount importance,” Williams, a Barack Obama appointee, wrote.
The contempt finding is the latest episode of an escalating power struggle between rightwing politicians and the courts, which have blocked several of Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies at the national level.
Williams noted that Uthmeier, an ally of the hard-right Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, and a vocal supporter of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, chose merely to inform state law enforcement agencies of her temporary restraining order preventing them from making arrests.
He then issued a further instruction telling them to go ahead anyway, insisting that Williams’s order carried no weight because no specific agency was named.
“It is my view that no lawful, legitimate order currently impedes your agencies from continuing to enforce Florida’s new illegal entry and reentry laws,” he told them in a letter.
A Tampa Bay Times analysis last month found that at least 25 people had been arrested under the law, many handed over into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention.
Williams cited the children’s book Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll in her conclusion ordering Uthmeier to file bi-weekly reports informing her of any more arrests or detentions made in defiance of her restraining order.
“‘When I use a word’, Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less’,” she wrote, quoting the 1871 classic.
“‘The question is’, said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things’. The answer then, as now, is no.
“Litigants cannot change the plain meaning of words as it suits them, especially when conveying a court’s clear and unambiguous order. Fidelity to the rule of law can have no other meaning.”
Uthmeier had stopped short of calling Williams an “activist judge”, a favored refrain used by Republicans following legal setbacks, but boasted in media appearances following her stay that he was proud to have defied her, and would continue to do so.
“I’m not going to bow down,” Uthmeier said in a 6 May interview cited in Williams’s order.
“This judge is considering whether or not to hold me in contempt. But I am not going to rubber-stamp her order, I’m not going to direct law enforcement to stand down on … carrying out Florida’s law.”
In another interview two days later, he said: “She’s issuing this order and saying you gotta tell them all to stand down. I’m not gonna do that,” the ruling states.
Williams wrote that she was “unconcerned with Uthmeier’s criticism and disapproval of the court and the court’s order”, but maintained that respect for the integrity of her orders was of “paramount importance”.
She wrote: “Within the bounds of the local rules and professional rules of conduct, Uthmeier is free to broadcast his continued appeal of the court’s injunction and his view that the court’s rulings are erroneous.
“However, when instructed to inform law enforcement that they are proscribed from enforcing an enjoined law, he may not tell them otherwise.”
Uthmeier’s only public reaction so far appears to be a defiant tweet posted on Tuesday night. “If being held in contempt is what it costs to defend the rule of law and stand firmly behind President Trump’s agenda on illegal immigration, so be it,” he wrote.
The Guardian has contacted his office for further comment.
DeSantis named Uthmeier, his former chief of staff, as attorney general in February to succeed Ashley Moody, whom the governor appointed to fill the remainder of Marco Rubio’s US Senate term after he was chosen by Trump to be secretary of state.
On Monday, Williams denied Uthmeier’s request to put on hold her earlier injunction while it is being appealed, finding it likely the law will be found unconstitutional.
That decision followed an appeals court ruling earlier this month denying a similar request from Uthmeier. The appellate judges said the case was far from being resolved.
“But we’re mindful that the burden in this posture is for the attorney general to make a ‘strong showing’ that he is likely to succeed on the merits. And we do not think he tips the balance in his favor,” the judges wrote, also noting Uthmeier’s “seemingly defiant posture” regarding Williams’s restraining order.
The Associated Press contributed to this report”
What an ignorant twist these cons are constantly putting on the rule of law.