In what appears to be the largest protest ever in Santa Barbara, more than 10,000 people gathered near the waterfront Saturday to protest the policies of President Trump, as part of the national No Kings rallies across the nation.

Activists covered the sidewalk on the beach side of Cabrillo Boulevard from Calle Cesar Chavez several blocks all the way to Castillo Street.

They waved thousands of signs that displayed their disgust for the president, at a time when he has deployed the National Guard to assist in deportation efforts by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles.

“When you send in the California National Guard without the government’s permission, that’s not Democracy — that’s fascism,” said Clare Grim, a Santa Barbara resident. “There’s very clear parallels between this and certain other leaders in the world about 100 years ago.”

She said it is important to get out and show up and say, “We’re against this.”

Many people in the crowd waved flags of Mexico, the United States, Palestine and Ukraine. Some carried the Mexican and American flags together, to show support for both countries, and respect for the role immigrants play in society.

“Immigrants are really, really important to California, and I don’t think maybe some Republicans realize that,” said Olivia Akin, a Santa Barbara resident. “They are the backbone.”

Akin said she went to school with many kids whose parents were undocumented when they came into the country.

“It’s sad to think that some of those people who we have grown up with, their families can just be taken away,” Akin said.

Jody Plant said she was particularly bothered by the deportation efforts because many of those deported do not have criminal records.

“He’s just anti-everything,” Plant said.

Jaclyn Smith carried a sign that said, “Black and brown people make America great.” She was with her friend Delaney Balza, whose sign said, “Do Justice – God.”

“We believe that all people have the right to be here and should be treated with equality and respect, and so we want to protest when that is not happening,” Smith said.

Balza said she is Christian and believes it is important to take a stand as a person of faith.

“I am out here to stand against the disappointment I feel with members of my own faith community,” she said. “Just the lack of empathy, it is not the direction I am hopeful for.”

Balza said that you can be Christian and still be a protestor.

“I believe that this is what our faith calls us to do,” Balza said.

Amid the crowd was Lucky Cole, an 85-year-old retired IBM computer salesman. He was in a wheelchair on Cabrillo Boulevard carrying a sign that said “Kings are so 1775.”

Cole said Trump is attempting to set up an autocracy, attacking the press.

“You attack the truth, you attack the press, you attack the Democratic election process,” Cole said. “You destabilize the economy.”

Cole was gathered near Calle Cesar Chavez Boulevard and recalled when he once gave activist Cesar Chavez a ride to a public radio station in 1968. He was chair of the Democrats for Robert F. Kennedy in Ventura County at the time.

“I am shocked by how many people have turned out, but I shouldn’t be surprised given that it is Santa Barbara,” Cole said.

Click through this slideshow to see more images from Saturday’s protest in Santa Barbara.

Other protests around the county

Actions also took place in downtown Santa Maria along with Solvang and Lompoc.

At least 500 people staged at the corners of Main Street and Broadway in Santa Maria with participants including people of all ages. Periodically, protesters took to the crosswalks, marching and chanting their opposition to Trump’s administration.

With a tricorn hat perched on her head, Annabelle Primrose, a retired teacher from May Grisham School in Orcutt and El Camino Junior High School in Santa Maria, revived her American history lesson with a sign that three equal branches of government means no kings.

She hasn’t taught the lesson for 25 years and confessed she didn’t know why she held on to the hat. 

“Now I know why,” she said Saturday at the protest.

“If all three branches were doing what they’re supposed to do we wouldn’t have the problem,” she added.

In Lompoc, hundreds of protesters filled all four corners at H Street and Central Avenue with drivers honking their horns in support of the action.

Several blocks south, the community’s Juneteenth celebration took place on South H Street in Old Town with music, poetry, historical re-enactments, food, vendors and speeches including by Victor Jordan, publisher of the Lompoc Vision newspaper. 

In Solvang, approximately 300 people gathered along Mission Drive to show their opposition to the current presidential administration’s action. 

The No Kings protest followed a Pride Parade held Saturday in downtown Solvang where the Solvang Park hosted the Santa Ynez Valley’s fourth Pride Festival with the theme “Lead with Love.”

Click through the slideshow below to see more photos of protests around the county.

Noozhawk North County Editor Janene Scully also contributed to this article.