Thousands of protesters took to Inland Empire streets over the weekend as part of the No Kings demonstrations. They were organized in opposition to the Trump Administration’s policies. Rallies were held in cities including Riverside, San Bernardino, Redlands and Ontario.
KVCR’s Anthony Victoria was able to catch up with Riverside Record reporter Daniel Eduardo Hernandez and Frontline Observer reporter Christopher Salazar, who were in the streets speaking to people protesting.
TRANSCRIPT
ANTHONY VICTORIA: Daniel, so you were in downtown Riverside. What was the mood like at the protest?
DANIEL EDUARDO HERNANDEZ: So yeah, there were an estimated 4,000 Inland Empire residents that showed up to the Saturday protest. And honestly, the energy was very energetic.
(SOUND OF PROTESTERS CHANTING)
HERNANDEZ: A lot of people came out to protest for hours. They felt that the Trump administration was really overextending in a lot of their policies. And a lot of people that I talked to shared that they felt an obligation to come and make their voices heard on Saturday.
VICTORIA: So, what were some of the reasons people shared with you for showing up? What were they hoping to express through protesting?
HERNANDEZ: Well, I spoke with a range of people on that day. A lot of them came from Hispanic backgrounds, and they really felt frustrated and angry with the Trump administration's increase of immigration enforcement actions over the past few months. And then there's a lot of other people who really spoke on the cuts to Medicare that they were really angry with as well. And then some other people spoke about the fact that they were very angry at the fact that Trump called Texas lawmakers to pressure them to redistrict their congressional maps. But overall, it was very much this anti-Trump sentiment.
VICTORIA: Christopher, you were in Redlands and Ontario over the weekend. Were there any clear calls to action from organizers, or any issues or concerns that were raised during the protest?
CHRISTOPHER SALAZAR: There were several clear calls to action. One was a message of unity. Sean Dare, US Army veteran, had harkened on this point that this demonstration, this rally, these protests, have been painted as anti-America rallies. But rather, he said, and these are his words, it's a “Love America” rally.
SEAN DARE: If you come out here and actually see what's on the streets, it's people having a good time. It's people coming together and resisting, you know, a dictatorship.
SALAZAR: In Ontario, I spoke with Karen May. She's a union representative with SEIU, and for her, you know, another big issue was, you know, Medicaid cuts, tax cuts for the people who really don't need them.
KAREN MAY: We know that the ‘Big, Ugly Bill’ cut billions and billions of dollars from critical programs like SNAP and Medicare, MediCal. And where's that money going? It's going into the pocket of billionaires in tax cuts. Do we really need more tax cuts for billionaires? I think we need those programs
SALAZAR: For her, it’s really a matter of courage.
ANTHONY VICTORIA: Overall, what sense did you get about how these protests fit into the larger political moment that we're living through right now?
DANIEL HERNANDEZ: I think the main takeaway is from this protest is that even in Riverside and Inland Empire, a region that tends to have a lot less civic engagement than other regions in Southern California, even here, people feel the need to get out and to make their voices heard.
CHRISTOPHER SALAZAR: Well, the political moment that we're living through is incredibly complex. It's confusing. But what I think the rather inspiring throughline is that at the end of the day, we should care for our neighbors, because they too, like you are Americans, but this political moment requires hope, and what I saw on the streets was hope in abundance.
Daniel Eduardo Hernandez is a multimedia reporter for The Riverside Record. Christopher Salazar is a reporter with The Frontline Observer.
