Hundreds gathered in San Luis Obispo at the corner of Los Osos Valley Road and Calle Joaquin on Feb. 17, protesting the Trump administration amid slews of White House executive orders issued since taking office.
“Smells like fascism,” one protest sign read. “Presidents are not kings,” and “Make dystopia fiction again,” others said.
Passing cars honked their horns in unison as protesters chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Trump and Musk have got to go!”
“I’ve never been so happy to hear so many car horns in my life,” one 19-year-old protester told another.
Retired engineer and Arroyo Grande resident Andy Unruh organized the protest on Los Osos Valley Road, part of a larger national “Not My President” protest effort. Unruh’s was one of four protests held in the county that day, with others in Downtown SLO, Grover Beach, and Paso Robles.
Unruh told New Times he had never organized a protest before and was initially hoping for 100 attendees. But by noon on that President’s Day, he estimated at least 500 had showed up, lining each side of the street.
He was there to fight for young people’s rights to democracy, Unruh said.
“Not because democracy is always so awesome, but because it gives young people a chance to choose their own government, rather than have some government that somebody else thinks is right for them shoved down their throat,” he said.
Unruh said he could easily hide from the whole thing and remain unaffected, but he couldn’t sit by and watch the wealthy run the country, taking specific issue with Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk, which claims that it intends to cut federal spending and improve government use of technology.
“I see what’s happening in my country, and I don’t like it. I am a patriot, and so I want to make my country strong, and I want to make my country happy,” he said. “And I don’t think the way to make the country happy is to concentrate all the power and all the voice and all the wealth into the hands of .01 percent of the population.”
SLO resident Pete Evans agreed. His two chihuahuas, Tani and Cooper, were lying on a dog bed atop a utility box.
Evans said he felt infuriated by the results of the election, and he didn’t know “what the hell kind of country we have.”
“Republicans kill everything that isn’t white and male,” he said.
An active voter since 1964, he said he had never seen an administration worse the current one, amid issues of climate change, women’s and gay rights, deportations, and firing federal employees.
“We’ve got it coming,” he said. “And MAGA will eat it too.”
According to SLO County Democratic Party Chair Tom Fulks, 1,500 people showed up between all four SLO County protests on Feb. 17. While the party didn’t organize the protests, it did help by sending out communications and helping protesters make signs.
Fulks said the SLO County Democratic Party hopes to continue fighting for the cause against the Trump administration, but also noted that SLO isn’t necessarily MAGA country.
” Fifty-seven percent of the voters of San Luis Obispo County rejected Trump. … He got beaten in 2020 by Biden by 11 points,” he said. “In spite of some of the more strenuous people who drive their pickups around, and their neck veins bulging, they want it to give the appearance with their big flags and trucks that this is Trump country. It’s not.”
Besides physical picketing, Fulks said residents can resist by doing something as simple as donating clothing.
“That’s a form of protest in itself,” he said.
Fulks said he also recommends supporting local government officials by attending public meetings and writing postcards to elected officials.
“It’s not all confrontation, it’s not all demonstration, it’s proving to the community that our party is a part of the people,” he said.
New Times contacted the Republican Party of SLO for comment but did not receive a response before publication. Δ
This article appears in Feb 20 – Mar 2, 2025.
I am so very grateful for your coverage of the protests in San Luis Obispo. Many of the major newspapers did a very poor job of covering the protests nationally and it was very disappointing. I think so many people are appalled by what is happening, but they aren’t sure how to respond. Your article lets them know that there are people who care just like them about democracy, equity, science, education, conservation, respecting the law and so much more and are willing to fight to preserve it. We all need to get involved!