Hundreds of protestors gathered in Beverly Gardens Park on June 14 to protest the Trump administration. (photo by Tabor Brewster)

Millions of people across the country took to streets, parks and public spaces to speak out against President Donald Trump, his administration and its policies in thousands of “No Kings” protests on June 14. Participants chanted, waved banners and held signs criticizing the 45th and 47th president for what they said is an alarming attack on civil rights, the Constitution, democracy and the rule of law. The “No Kings” marches were held in response to the military parade Trump held in Washington, D.C. on the same day.

In Los Angeles, the protests came amid an increase of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids targeting migrants and the deployment of the U.S. Military in Los Angeles by the Trump administration. Critics say the raids lack due process, utilize racial profiling and are meant to instill fear in immigrant communities. Additionally, many Angelenos and leaders across California – including L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom – have decried the militarization of Los Angeles as an illegal and unnecessary show of force by the federal government.

More than a dozen protests were held in the Los Angeles area. In Beverly Hills, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Beverly Gardens Park, holding up signs reading “No Kings in America” and “ICE out of L.A.” as passersby honked in support and buses full of tourists passed by on Santa Monica Boulevard. Several local leaders attended the event, including Beverly Hills City Councilmembers Craig Corman and Mary Wells, and Los Angeles City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, 5th District.

“I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the state of California and the Constitution of the United States, there’s not much more to say than that. I absolutely need to be here,” Wells said. “We’re watching a whole group of people that’s being demonized and indiscriminately targeted and their rights are being disregarded. So I think it’s really important for us to take a stand and be a voice. Every one of us – in Beverly Hills or otherwise – is impacted in some way either directly or indirectly.”

Yaroslavsky echoed Wells’ comments in an impassioned speech to attendees.

“We are living through a moment that demands a great deal of us. This is a moment that demands clarity, calm and moral courage,” Yaroslavsky said. “Over the past week, Los Angeles has become the focus of an alarming and illegal federal escalation. Meanwhile, the Trump administration and their misinformation machine are in overdrive trying to spin what’s really happening here in Los Angeles. They’re sending ICE agents into elementary schools, Home Depot parking lots, courthouses and workplaces. Marines are stationed outside federal buildings. The administration says it’s liberating us from dangerous criminals, but most of the people arrested have no criminal record. I don’t know about you, I don’t feel liberated. I feel like we’re under siege. This isn’t about safety. It’s about spectacle and cruelty. The enforcement that we’re seeing is designed to be seen. It’s designed to scare us into submission. But we’re not going to let them.”

The event also featured supportive remarks from Sherwin Shamoeil, a senior field representative for the office of Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Los Angeles), and Brian Goldsmith, a Democratic consultant and former journalist who is running for state senate.

“Today is about a war on California, a war on our Constitution, a war on everything our country represents,” Goldsmith said. “It’s about weaponizing the federal government against its communities. Going after medical research, going after the immigrants who are the heartbeat of our community – one out of every three people in L.A. County is an immigrant. Go back one or two generations, pretty much everybody here comes from an immigrant. Immigrants run half the biggest businesses in America. Immigrants created so many of the best jobs in our country. We need more immigrants, not fewer immigrants. Immigrants to America are to be celebrated, not abused.”

Many attendees expressed similar concerns over the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

“I need the world to know that we’re not standing for this. We don’t believe in how he’s carrying out these ICE tactics. We don’t believe that the federal government should come and take over what the state can handle themselves. We did not need the National Guard. We did not need the Marines. We stand in solidarity with these immigrants that have been here for 20 years plus, and they work and they’re a vital part of Los Angeles,” Beverly Hills resident Lisa Neal said.

“I am horrified at the state of our country right now,” Beverly Hills resident Alissa Roston, a candidate in the 2024 City Council election, said. “What’s going on in our country with chasing immigrants who are working hard, and who are providing our food and cleaning for us and teaching, etcetera, it’s just horrifying. I am all in favor of dealing with real criminals, and that’s what Trump said he was going to do. But going after people that have lived here for 20, 30 years and paying taxes – they’re not criminals, he is.”

Gay Abrams, a Beverly Hills resident who helped organize the protest, described the turnout as “amazing.” Hundreds of community members from different generations gathered, and the demonstration remained peaceful, she said.

“Our democracy is established as ‘we the people.’ Not tyrants, not dictators, not kings,” Abrams said.

Similar protests were held in West Hollywood, Hollywood, Pico-Robertson and Santa Monica, among other Southern California cities and neighborhoods.

The demonstration in West Hollywood Park was attended by West Hollywood Mayor Chelsea Byers and several City Council members.

“West Hollywood Park holds such a deep and meaningful history of activism for our city and for this region and seeing thousands of people gather in this special place to take part in such a historical day of action demonstrates the clarity of our community values and the strength of our convictions,” Byers said. “We are up against so much, and this nationwide rallying moment reminded us all that we are not alone. In my speech, I asked that everyone take a moment to connect with someone new around them, because I believe that it is through these new connections that this movement grows stronger. We are a community that cares fiercely for one another, and through all the speaking and chanting and connecting and marching, I felt a new wave of energy that I know was shared by others.  And while we know that rallies and marches alone will not transform our circumstances, these moments are critical fuel to keep us moving forward.”

While a protest in Downtown Los Angeles was declared unlawful and was dispersed by the Los Angeles Police Department, the vast majority of the demonstrations ended without violence.