The Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) and city officials are urging calm ahead of Saturday’s anti-Trump “No Kings” protest at Palisades Park, as concerns grow over the potential for unrest reminiscent of the violence that followed a 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstration. The city has pledged a strong law enforcement presence and outlined contingency plans while working with organizers to ensure the event remains peaceful.
The rally, scheduled from 11am to 12:30pm at the north end of Palisades Park near Montana Avenue, is one of hundreds taking place across the country as part of a “Nationwide Day of Defiance” tied to President Donald Trump’s birthday and Flag Day. Organizers say more than 1,800 demonstrations are planned nationwide.
The Santa Monica protest is expected to draw between 1,500 and 2,000 attendees, according to SMPD Chief Ramon Batista, who said the department has activated its Emergency Operations Center and declared a tactical alert to bring in all sworn and professional staff. Mutual aid has been requested from neighboring jurisdictions and the department will have access to drone surveillance, license plate readers and strategically placed officers monitoring key entry and exit points throughout the city.
“This is not 2020,” Batista said during a Thursday morning Zoom briefing hosted by the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce. “We’ve come a long way in the technology and the number of staff and personnel that we have assigned to the day. We have more support than we had that day back in 2020.”
Batista said SMPD has coordinated with the event’s organizers, the Santa Monica Democratic Club and emphasized that the city supports the right to peaceful protest. However, he also warned of the potential for bad actors to infiltrate the event, as seen in other cities.
“Our role in that situation will be to respond to that and keep it at bay and allow for the free speech event to continue,” Batista said. “That does not mean that we’re not going to have an eye on Montana, downtown, Main Street, the pier.”
Batista pointed to past incidents where individuals took advantage of protest activity to commit crimes. He referenced a recent two-week operation in the North of Montana neighborhood where more than 250 traffic stops were made and 54 arrests occurred. None of the suspects were Santa Monica residents. Arrests included charges related to stolen property, weapons possession, burglary tools and DUI.
“These were not people here to support the community,” he said. “They were here to exploit it.”
In a public statement issued Wednesday, the City of Santa Monica acknowledged residents’ concerns and confirmed that police are upstaffing and monitoring the protest closely. “Any criminal acts such as looting, vandalism, acts of violence or threats to public safety will not be tolerated,” the statement read. It added that the city’s departments, including Fire, Public Works and Transportation, are ready to activate if needed.
Callers to 911 will be routed through the Office of Emergency Management, which is separate from SMPD and residents are being encouraged to sign up for SM Alerts for real-time updates.
Chief Batista said officers would maintain a visible presence near the protest but intentionally avoid creating a confrontational posture. “I don’t want to preemptively start a confrontation when there is not the need to do that,” he said, adding that plans are in place to shut down streets quickly if needed.
When asked whether businesses should remain open or consider boarding up windows, Batista said he would support any decision owners made but reiterated that this was not the same as the 2020 protest.
“I can tell you that we are way more prepared than we were in 2020,” he said. “We are actively monitoring the event and doing as best as we can to figure out who is coming. They’re working off encrypted chats, encrypted apps that we obviously don’t have access to.”
CEO of Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. Andrew Thomas echoed the need for calm while acknowledging uncertainty. “I am very hopeful that Saturday’s protest will be peaceful. Many cities have had these events and they have been peaceful,” he told the Daily Press. “The difference now is that this event has a new context with the ICE raids. There is always a chance bad actors can infiltrate a peaceful protest, but in talking with SMPD, they are ready.”
Protest guidelines provided by organizers instruct participants to remain on public park property, avoid entering streets or bike paths and hold signs down while walking from parked cars until reaching the park. Attendees are encouraged to bring handmade signs and “noisemakers” such as pots and pans.
Although the organizers have not announced plans for a march, Batista said contingency plans are in place. “There’s no way that I’m ever going to do anything other than try to protect people that are on the street,” he said. “We’ve seen it across the country. We’ve seen it in Europe. I’m very mindful of it occurring here.”
The city confirmed there are no current plans for a curfew, but officials have pre-drafted internal protocols allowing them to implement one swiftly if necessary. Batista also confirmed that Saturday’s protest would not interfere with other events planned across the city, including a Juneteenth celebration at Virginia Avenue Park.
In response to damage inflicted on self-driving vehicles during recent unrest in downtown Los Angeles, the Daily Press reached out to Waymo, whose autonomous cars are frequently seen in Santa Monica. A spokesperson said, “Right now, Waymo remains committed to helping people get where they’re going safely while navigating the environments where our vehicles operate. As always, we’re assessing local events that might impact our service and adhering to guidance from local officials.”
Batista reiterated the importance of allowing the protest to proceed while protecting residents, property and businesses. He said the department would continue its operational posture well beyond the scheduled end of the rally at 12:30pm. “Just because the protest ends at 12:30 or 1 does not mean that this operation is going to be turned off,” he said.
He urged residents to remain aware but not fearful, saying there was no specific intelligence suggesting the event would turn violent. “Everything that we have indicates, so far, peaceful,” he said. “I always have to think about the things that could go wrong or things that are not in the plan or what the organizers said was going to occur,” he said, adding, “We’re human beings and we’re unpredictable.”
The warnings come as the first video evidence has emerged of immigration enforcement in Santa Monica. A video posted to the NextDoor platform shows three masked men wearing bullet proof vests labeled "Police" corral a suspect into an unmarked car near the intersection of 16th and Washington. The cars then drive away as the person taking the video heckles the officers.
Immigration agencies do not coordinate or notify local law enforcement of activity in their jurisdictions and the Santa Monica Police Department does not work with immigration authorities on immigration enforcement.
scott.snowden@smdp.com