Marin protesters join day of anti-Trump rallies

Demonstrators took to the streets in Corte Madera on Saturday in another wave of protests against the Trump administration.

The rally was one of many around the region and the country. Organizers say they oppose what they view as Trump’s civil rights and constitutional violations, including efforts to deport scores of immigrants, shrink Social Security benefits and dismiss thousands of government workers.

The protests come just two weeks after similar nationwide anti-Trump rallies also attracted thousands.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, roughly 2,000 people in downtown San Jose lined the block of St. James Park, chanting “This is what democracy looks like,” and holding colorful signs that read “Remove the Dictator” and “Hands Off our Democracy.”

The protests Saturday coincided with the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War.

“Two-hundred and fifty years ago, we decided we weren’t going to have kings in this country,” said protester Karen Hurst, 58, of Sunnyvale. “It seems like right now we’re headed in the wrong direction and towards someone who wants to be a king.”

In Santa Cruz, several hundred people gathered at the corner of Ocean and Water streets near the county government center. In Berkeley, a few hundred people gathered at the North Berkeley BART station, holding signs and encouraging passersby to honk and support.

In San Francisco, about 1,000 protesters gathered at Civic Center Plaza. Holding a large American flag, San Francisco resident Andrew Hudlow said the anti-Trump movement is for “all Americans.”

“I’m here because I’m concerned about democracy,” the newly-minted lawyer said. “I know history, I know what happens in other countries. I know what the start of authoritarianism looks like, and that’s what we’re seeing right now. If nobody backs up the courts, then it’s just Trump, and that’s not the country I want to live in.”

Bay Area News Group contributed to this report.