LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of protesters, many saying they’re fed up with the current state of the U.S. government, gathered in downtown Los Angeles Saturday afternoon as part of the nationwide “No Kings” demonstrations calling for early voter turnout in the upcoming Nov. 3 midterm elections.

By midday, several hundred people gathered at Gloria Molina Grand Park, carrying signs that declared “No Kings” with pictures of President Donald Trump.

The sun beat down, keeping attendees in the shade until around 1 p.m. when speeches began ahead of a planned march through downtown.

One sign read, “Dethrone dementia Don,” with a photo of the president sitting on a toilet wearing a crown.

“Not voting is the leading cause of unwanted presidencies,” another read.

Booths lined the park, including one promoting ranked-choice voting.

State Sen. Sasha Renee Perez, D-Pasadena, appeared at the rally before the march through downtown, leading the crowd into a call and response against Trump, ICE and fascism.

Perez spoke of the Trump administration’s surge of immigration raids as a method of voter intimidation, noting a competitive congressional race in the Central Valley where a Republican congressman faces a well-funded Democratic challenger.

“We have to protect our voting rights here in the state of California,” she said. “If your vote was not so powerful, we would not see this administration spending millions of dollars on Operation Safe California to terrorize our community, but I will let you in on a secret, and that is that when we organize, we win.”

After living in Los Angeles for 40 years, Marlene McRae said she came out to fight against the current administration.

“I’m so disgusted with what’s happening in our country,” she said, carrying a yellow parasol to shield her from the bright sun.

Voting matters, she said, because it gives you a voice, and coming out ahead of the midterms, she felt it was important to show her dissent.

Progress happens in increments, she said. “I’m trying to make a lot of little steps.”

“I can’t tell you how to vote,” one speaker said to the crowd. “But vote for people who have a conscience and a moral compass.”

Saturday’s demonstration marked the fourth installment of this national movement over the last year or so, each promoting a different message. Previously, the rallies were aimed at protesting President Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdowns, the war in Iran and high gas prices, as well as the rise in food prices.

“No Kings: Vote Early is the next step of reclaiming our power after a year of mass mobilizations,” according to the No Kings coalition website. “It’s a day of nonpartisan voter participation, being in community with each other, and making sure every eligible voter has a plan, knows their options, and is ready to make their voice count.”

Looming over the midterm election are President Trump’s suggestions — given without evidence — of rampant voter fraud, specifically committed by noncitizens, in the U.S.

Election experts have refuted these allegations, saying there is no evidence of such problems on a significant scale.

Just three weeks away from the midterm elections, the Trump administration sued California on Thursday over its handling of voter fraud claims and asked a federal court to immediately bar the state from counting ballots from 20,000 voters statewide, a majority in Los Angeles County whom the administration alleged are “likely noncitizens,” and launch an investigation.

The lawsuit sparked a tit-for-tat between the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, which pushed back and the Department of Justice, which warned that county election officials who tabulate ballots from the flagged voters could face criminal prosecution.

California voters have already begun voting in the Nov. 3 midterms via mail-in ballots this month.

In downtown Los Angeles, a speaker acknowledged Saturday’s protest was “significantly smaller than it has been in the past.” The last “No Kings” rally in March drew thousands of protesters in downtown alone.

More than a dozen marches and rallies took place Saturday across parts of Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties.

Unlike some liberal bastions holding protests, Temecula and Riverside County voted in favor of a second Trump term in 2024. Still roughly 500 protesters in Temecula, roughly miles 85 southeast of downtown L.A.

Riverside County resident John O’Connor, 70, said much has changed since then.

“You don’t see nearly as many Trump flags and signs as you did two years ago,” said O’Connor, who wore a “Why I am a Democrat” shirt to the protest.

O’Connor has attended multiple rallies and said they reminded him of his youth, when he protested the Vietnam War.

“They’re both spirited rallies, but I would say there’s more of a desperation with these,” he added.

For Riverside County resident Susan Collins, 74, it was deeply personal.

The naturalized U.S. citizen, who emigrated from Australia at 5, said she’s been “appalled at Trump’s treatment of immigrants, refugees and the poor.”

“The damage he’s done by cutting USAID all while enriching himself is incredible,” said Collins, daughter of the late William Ross Adey, the famed UCLA professor who led research on the effects of electromagnetic fields. “I will continue to protest because this is not OK.”

Trump did have his backers, though.

An unknown man driving a gray Ford Ranger drove laps around Temecula’s Duck Pond, protest site, holding down 30-second to 1-minute continuous honks as passed by, flipping the bird and mooning protesters.

The day’s biggest cheer came when a Riverside County Sheriff’s deputy pulled behind the driver and escorted him from the scene.

One of the earlier protests in the South Bay saw a tidy column of around 50 protesters walk south on the boardwalk connecting Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach.

Around 10 a.m., the crowd was small enough and social enough to squeeze into a group portrait in the plaza in front of the Hermosa Pier.

On the count of three, the crowd yelled, “VOTE!”

The “No Kings” coalition has urged participation in person and online, however there was a wrinkle in online support. The organization said on its website that the main “No Kings” coalition Instagram accounts were frozen and taken down early Saturday.

“The No Kings admin have lost access to the account,” the statement said. “We are unable to log in and it happened at the peak of our national day of action.”

The account was inaccessible for nearly 2 hours before it was restored and visible to the public.

Members of the coalition who operate the social media account were still unable to access its back-end as of 1:30 p.m.

“Though it is public, it’s not currently operable,” said Hunter Dunn, spokesperson for the coalition.

The Times reached out to Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Instagram, but did not receive a response before publication.

©2026 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.