Demonstrators gathered in Oakland and San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 17, as part of a national No Kings day of action that organizers built around early voting ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm election.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that thousands of people took part in events around the Bay Area. In Oakland, the Alameda County seat, a crowd rallied outside the Grand Lake Theatre on Saturday morning while organizers passed out "Vote Early" signs and directions to mail-ballot drop boxes nearby.
In San Francisco, people gathered at Mission Dolores Park and hundreds then marched through the Mission District behind a sound truck, and a group formed the word "VOTE" in a human mural at Ocean Beach, according to the Chronicle.
Organizers said the events were meant to encourage voting rather than to back particular candidates, and the Chronicle reported they took place in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Many participants who spoke with the paper voiced opposition to the Trump administration and said they worried about federal interference in elections.
"I'm really concerned about the rule of law," Tim Iglesias, a retired law professor who has signed up as a poll monitor, told the Chronicle.
The published accounts did not include a police estimate of crowd size or any report of arrests.
