Second ‘No Kings’ protest draws over 1,000 in Modesto’s Standiford Park
For the second time this year, a rally to protest President Donald Trump’s administration and policies was held in Modesto as part of an organized nationwide movement on Saturday.
More than 2,500 No Kings events, mainly marches and rallies, were being held Oct. 18. That puts the day on track to surpass the No Kings demonstrations in June, which drew more than 5 million participants nationwide.
Modesto’s event, peaceful in nature, was scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. at Standiford Park. By 1 p.m., the nearly 5-acre park was filled with about 1,000 people. Estimates provided by the event’s organizers state that over 2,400 people participated in the protest.
Protesters donned signs mocking Trump and his policies. The crowd was made up of all ages. Several people wore inflatable costumes — astronauts, dinosaurs, unicorns, bald eagles — which made for some uncomfortable warmth on a day that already was at 73 degrees by 1 p.m.
Ashley Dolman was dressed head to toe as a clown, which she did to show the illegitimacy of the characterization of protesters as violent. “I’m a clown — how violent am I going to be? I’m dressed brightly, I’m dressed silly. You can’t say I’m violent when I look this silly,” she said.
Avonelle Tomlinson, an organizer with the group 50501, dressed as a unicorn and said she was inspired by the frog protesters in Portland, where she is originally from. “I really feel that if we don’t stand up and ridicule them, mock them, then what’s the use? We’re peaceful, we’re not going to beat people up.”
Matthew Mason emerged from a T-Rex outfit. He said he is aware of the ban on face coverings but believed the costume still met the acceptable criteria because it had a clear window, though it was fogged up.
Standiford Park is a less prominent location than June’s No Kings rally held in and near downtown Modesto. During the coinciding June ICE Out protest in front of Tenth Street Place, five people were arrested on suspicion of breaking a then little-known city ordinance that bans facial coverings at public gatherings.
Under pressure, the city eventually dropped the charges. But demands persisted from the public and several organizations to repeal all or portions of the ordinance. The Modesto Police Department faced accusations it enforced the June protest discriminately.
On Saturday, MPD handled the event very differently than in June. Instead of jumping out of an unmarked car or police cruiser wearing riot control gear like they did four months ago, officers stepped off bicycles to inform protesters of the code.
In the park, protester James Chavez Jr. was given a card laying out the ordinance and told that the pole for the flag he was carrying was too big in circumference (possibly making it a weapon). “I think that’s ridiculous,” Chavez told The Bee. “It’s only a pole that I bought at Walmart with the flag attached.”
Officers handed such cards to many people carrying flagpoles or protest sign sticks that violated the code. That seemed to be the bigger issue of the day, as there were only a couple of masked protesters seen, and one man’s cough suggested he was wearing it for health reasons.
One man was in a back-and-forth with an MPD officer on a bike because he was using as a walking aid a flagpole with a circumference that violated the municipal code. He was told he could use it, but not in the protest zone. “So you’re going to arrest me?” The officer responded “I’m educating you right now.”
Modesto resident Arthur Fabela was turned away from the protest for his sign, which MPD officers said was too thick to be in the protest area. “I can go in, but I’m just going to stay here, unless there is a problem with me being over here,” Fabela told The Bee.
The event also featured several speeches from local leaders and political candidates. One of those was Jaron Brandon, a Tuolumne County supervisor who’s running against state Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil.
Brandon warned that America’s institutions are under attack and said it will require more than one action or election to repair the damage that’s been done.
“They are trying to turn us against each other because united, we cannot be beaten as a people,” he said. “It’s not just words that they’re doing. It’s not just mean tweets, as some say, it’s actions. It’s the dangerous types of actions that chip away at our democratic norms — one norm, one lie, one institution at a time.”
One of the more fiery speeches of the day came from Modesto Progressive Democrats President Marjorie Sturdy. She used sharp, profanity-laden language to describe her feelings about the Trump administration.
“My grandfather died in France in World War II, fighting the [expletive] fascists over there. I am not sitting at home ... because I am standing up for what is right in this country, including our Constitution,” Sturdy said. “The democracy stands strong as long as the people stand with it. I pledge allegiance to the ANTIFA flag. Who’s with me?”
Other speakers included Astrid Zuniga (United Domestic Workers), Elijah Coleman (Central Valley Black, Indigenous, People of Color Coalition), Jaron Brandon (candidate for California Senate District 4), Darleen Patrick (Indivisible Stanislaus), and Michael Masuda (candidate for U.S. House of Representatives District 5).
Following the speeches, the crowd took to Tokay Avenue to continue its protest. There were no notable counterprotesters.
This story was originally published October 18, 2025 at 1:59 PM.
