Hundreds of people gathered at Ocean Beach in San Francisco on Saturday morning to protest the Trump administration by forming a massive human banner.
The banner read, “NO KING!” in reference to the “No Kings” protests taking place on Saturday across the country. The protests coincide with both President Donald Trump’s birthday and his approximately $45 million military parade taking place in Washington, D.C. The parade has been billed as part of a 250th birthday celebration for the Army, though it also fulfills a desire Trump has had since his first term to parade American military might through city streets.
A similar action took place on Ocean Beach in April, when hundreds gathered to form a human banner that read “IMPEACH + REMOVE!” That came during the height of government cuts led by the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk’s government-slashing effort. Musk has since left the Trump administration on acrimonious terms. In that display, the American flag was upside down to invoke the traditional distress signal.
Saturday’s human banner also included an American flag, though it was right side up. Trump and members of his administration had criticized protesters who were carrying flags of other nations this week in support of immigrants.
Both Saturday’s human banner and the one that took place in April were organized by local activists Brad Newsham and Travis Van Brasch, the San Francisco Chronicle reported (the Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms).
“The flag doesn’t belong to Donald Trump. It belongs to us. We’re not watching history happen. We’re making it,” an event page for the demonstration reads…