More than 125,000 protesters took to Bay Area streets Saturday as part of the third nationwide No Kings protest, with a primary focus on the war in Iran and the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement, according to a poll of organizers conducted by Bay Area News Group.

The tens of thousands of local participants were part of the roughly 8 million protesters nationwide across more than 3,000 individual events — marking the largest single-day protest turnout in modern American history, according to No Kings national organizers.

The Bay Area attendance count, though not yet complete, may have experienced a signifcant drop from previous local turnout numbers.

The first No Kings Day, which drew roughly 140,000 participants across the Bay Area, coincided with a military parade in Washington D.C. in honor of Donald Trump’s birthday and the 250th anniversary of the military. The second event in October, which Republicans decried as “hate America” rallies, drew as many as 220,000 in the Bay Area on the high end of estimates.

Protesters in the Bay Area rallied at more than 50 protests planned in cities stretching from Gilroy north to San Francisco and east to Antioch, aiming to push back against the Trump administration’s authoritarian moves. This marks the third nationwide No Kings day, with protests in June 2025 and October 2025 drawing similarly large crowds across the region.

Nationwide, the first No Kings drew crowds of 5 million. The second boasted 7 million participants.

People came out for many issues that galvanized people at the previous two No Kings rallies, said Nancy Latham, an organizer with Indivisible East Bay, including pushing back against the actions of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. But there were new issues on people’s minds, as well, such as the war in Iran. Because that has been “on people’s minds,” there was “a pretty big no war contingent” who showed up to the protest, she added.

“The protests themselves create a situation where we’re all seeing each other,” Latham said. “We see ourselves in this collective, and we realize it’s not just me. It’s not just me feeling this way. There’s so many other people who are saying no to an authoritarian, no ICE, no wars, no secret police kidnapping our neighbors. You see yourself in that, and it creates this identity as we are a people standing up to the authoritarian.”

“You can get a sense of momentum — that this is actually growing,” she added.

Latham added that because No Kings creates “such a broad umbrella,” it attracts a broad swath of people.

“All of these people can agree on the whole host of things that they don’t want, all of which are related to MAGA in the White House,” she said.

In San Francisco, which generally attracts the largest crowds of protesters, organizers estimated that about 60,000 people turned out into the streets to march from the Embarcadero to Civic Center, said Liliana Soroceanu, an organizers with Indivisible SF.

“Both the march and the rally were peaceful and joyous,” Indivisible SF said in a press release. “Participants’ main message was that America does not belong to greedy billionaires or strongmen who’d rule through fear. It belongs to us, the people.”

In San Jose, a protest at St. James Park downtown attracted a crowd of about 10,000, said James Kuszmaul, an organizer with 50501 San Jose. At Oakland’s rally at Frank Ogawa Plaza — one of three events planned in the city — there were 20,000 attendees, said Nancy Latham, an organizer with Indivisible East Bay.

“The energy was amazing, as always,” Latham said. “It was very joyful, very family friendly, really funny signs — everybody just happy to be together.”

In Walnut Creek, about 12,500 people participated in No Kings day, said Kathryn Durham-Hammer, an organizer with Indivisible ReSisters Contra Costa. Elsewhere across Contra Costa County, a total of about 1,126 people joined in on several protests planned by Indivisible East Contra Costa County — in Antioch, Oakley, Brentwood and Pittsburg, said organizer Kathy King. About 600 to 679 joined in at a protest in Pinole, said Derlin Hsu, co-founder of Indivisible North East Bay.

Protests in smaller cities similarly drew sizable crowds. In the town of Los Gatos, where residents lined Los Gatos Boulevard outside the Tesla dealership, there were 1,250 attendees, said Karla Albright, co-lead of Together We Will Los Gatos. In Hayward, 1,780 people turned out for a protest planned by Indivisible Eden Area, said media manager Pat Payne. In Pleasanton, more than 3,000 people participated, said Kyoko Takayama, an organizer with Indivisible Tri-Valley.

“It absolutely was crucial to have people locally showing up as part of the national movement, and also to make local connections with groups that are taking action everyday to push back against this republican regime,” said Mary Claire Neumann, chair of All Rise Alameda, who helped to plan the city’s No Kings protest.

On the Peninsula, protesters lined long stretches of El Camino Real at several protests planned along the route. Stretching through Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Los Altos and Palo Alto, about 10,000 protesters lined the throughway, said IdaRose Sylvester, an organizer with Together We Will.

“We are very pleased, and the energy was higher than most of our previous events,” Sylvester said. “Really electric and positive.”

At the No Kings Street Fest in Palo Alto along El Camino Real, more than 4,000 attendees listened to musical acts and participated in activity stations, said Michael Slind, an organizer with Indivisible Palo Alto Plus. In Menlo Park, there were 1,075, said Lucia Tedesco, president of the League of Women Voters of South San Mateo County. A spokesperson for Indivisible Mid-Peninsula estimated that 2,000 people had attended a rally in Redwood City.

The nationwide turnout was also a good sign to protesters.

“We always want to keep growing. We want to give a sense of momentum,” Latham said. “People need to see themselves in something that is growing and getting more powerful.”

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