Thousands of Ventura County residents are expected to protest against the war with Iran, immigration enforcement and other actions of President Donald Trump in March 28 rallies that organizers said could be among the largest of the resistance movement.
The goal is 10,000 people filling the sidewalks at a rally outside the Ventura County Government Center in Ventura, said Beth Mansfield, spokesperson for the groups organizing the event. A rally later the same day in Thousand Oaks could draw 7,000 people, organizers said.
Other protests are scheduled in Simi Valley, Westlake Village, Moorpark and Ojai. The rallies are the third in a series of nationwide No Kings Day events that target what protesters contend is the authoritarianism of the Trump administration.
“We’ve been planning this since January,” Mansfield said of the Ventura rally. “Every day, people are reading the news and saying ‘This is crazy. What can I do?’ This gives them something where they can show up and they can do something.”
The No Kings rallies, along with similar protests targeting the Trump White House, have become the face of the resistance movement. Critics say the gatherings spawn more division and make it harder to find middle ground.
“Do they create more solutions or more conflict?” asked conservative political consultant Tab Berg, quickly answering his question. “This absolutely pushes people apart and creates more conflict.”
Mansfield said sustained peaceful protests are the way to fight a Trump administration that threatens democracy. She cited research by Harvard professor Erica Chenoweth contending resistance movements that involve at least 3.5% of the population historically always bring change.
Linda Demyan will spend part of her Saturday at the corner of Los Angeles Avenue and Spring Road in Moorpark waving a protest sign and waiting for motorists to beep in support. Demyan, who helped organize the rally, said the protests provide a voice.
“It tells other people it’s OK to speak up,” she said.
Demyan said the rallies also bring about other dividends, including a community stakeholders group in Moorpark focused on issues like bringing food to families afraid of going out in public because of immigration enforcement.
Haco Hoang, professor of political science at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, said the protests most likely to bring about change are focused on specific goals.
She cited the Minneapolis, Minnesota, protests that targeted the deployment of some 2,000 federal agents in the area. Hoang said the efforts affected the way people viewed immigration enforcement and spurred the White House announcement that it was ending the operation.
“It changed public opinion even for people who initially supported a firm crackdown,” she said.
Hoang said other anti-Trump protests have offered a myriad of messages and have been less focused on what she called “deliverables.”
Berg, the GOP consultant, said the protests appear to be mostly about venting anger.
“They’re not trying to communicate with the broader public, they just want to shout,” he said.
Mansfield said the No Kings rallies are focused on the authoritarian threat to democracy and are designed in a way that allow people to emphasize the issues that hit them hardest.
“What we want is a functioning democracy again. That is our focus,” she said.
Ventura County No Kings Day rallies
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: No Kings Day rallies could draw huge crowds in county, organizers say
Reporting by Tom Kisken, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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