Soroceanu said thousands signed up to attend the rally in San Francisco, and she expects thousands more will show up.
Planning for the national day of action began weeks ago to protest Trump’s military parade.
But Soroceanu said Trump’s deployment of the California National Guard and U.S. Marines in Los Angeles have only added to the sense of urgency among organizers.
The Trump administration’s immigration raids in L.A. this month sparked large-scale protests throughout the region. Trump federalized the National Guard on June 7, deploying 2,000 Guard troops, and later 700 Marines, to respond to the protests. Gov. Gavin Newsom has challenged the move in court, arguing the administration violated the law by not coordinating the deployment with him.
“This militarization of law enforcement, which is both illegal and inappropriate, has escalated events in L.A. Yesterday, they assaulted a U.S. senator. So this is all behavior of a fascist regime,” Soroceanu said, referring to an incident Thursday when California Sen. Alex Padilla was removed from a press conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and forced to the ground.
San Francisco police arrested more than 200 people in the hours following demonstrations on June 8 and 9, accusing some of vandalizing businesses or throwing objects at police.
Soroceanu and other organizers urged attendees to remain peaceful and nonviolent at Saturday’s protests, but local and state officials say they’re preparing for massive turnout and the possibility of clashes between protesters and police.
Gov. Newsom announced Friday that the California Highway Patrol and the state’s Office of Emergency Services would be working to pre-deploy personnel to cities across the state ahead of the No Kings protests.
“California has zero tolerance for those who plan to take advantage of peaceful demonstrations with violence,” Newsom said. “We’re pre-deploying resources to maintain safety — and we will prosecute those who break the law.”
Newsom added that all eight of CHP’s Special Response Teams, consisting of 700 officers, were staged throughout the state.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie also announced Friday that he was activating the emergency operations center, where several city agencies, including law enforcement and emergency services, would be coordinating the city’s response.
Lurie was flanked by the police chief, the sheriff, the district attorney and the head of the department of emergency management, many of whom stressed that law enforcement will arrest anybody who breaks the law.
This story will be updated throughout the day.
