MONTEREY >> Local residents attended the local “No Kings” rally by the thousands Saturday, occupying Window on the Bay park with the crowd stretching up and down Del Monte Avenue.

Hosted by 50501 Monterey, a coalition of nonprofit organizations including Indivisible Monterey, organizers estimated more than 6,000 people attended the rally, carrying signs, banners and lots of American flags.

Attendees wore shirts with messages of peace and liberty, and some came decked out in red, white and blue outfits. People came alone, with their families and representatives for other groups and organizations. Though the rally was slated for 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., event organizers said people were already hundreds strong by 1 p.m., and people stayed until after 5 p.m.

Thousands of No Kings rallies took place across the U.S. on Saturday to protest President Trump’s military parade in Washington D.C., among other things.

But for many in California, Saturday was also a way to show their support for the city of Los Angeles after days of protests prompted the president to send active military service members to work alongside the National Guard.

“Our community is showing that we support our immigrant neighbors, we support Los Angeles and stand against the regime,” said Heidi Feldman, one of the event organizers. “Either documented or undocumented doesn’t matter to us, these are members of our community so why would we want to hurt them? It just hurts ourselves.”

According to Indivisible’s national chapter, more than 5 million people participated in a local rally Saturday.

While there were reports of a few clashes in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Culpeper, Virginia — Monterey’s rally remained peaceful throughout the afternoon.

Zoe Martinez, from Hollister, said part of what drove her and her family to visit Monterey’s protest was seeing California consistently in the news including Los Angeles protester clashes with law enforcement, or Sentator Alex Padilla who was forcibly removed from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s news conference in Los Angeles on Thursday.

“We just wanted to be a part of the rally and show up for the community,” Martinez said. “We’ve seen the news and what’s happening is shameful. I’m here to stand up for my family and community.”

Sisters Doree Hyland and Ellorie McReynolds from Seaside came with signs calling for accountability from the president’s administration, also expressing their frustration over recent national events.

“It’s disrespectful, the way this administration has been acting, what’s happening in L.A., what happened to Alex Padilla, it’s just disgusting,” Hyland said.

Both, said they had also been keeping up with the news and felt compelled to show up for the community.

“We are pleasantly surprised at the turnout, there’s so many people,” McReynolds said. “We outnumber them (opposing political parties), and I think today shows that.”

Attendance jumped considerably from a similar anti-Trump protest hosted by 50501 Monterey in April, which drew 3,700 people according to organizers. Many protesters were moved by the size of Saturday’s crowd.

Steven Hall, from Monterey, said this is the second protest he’s attended in the area. “This is the biggest one we’ve been (to) here, and it’s really heartening,” Hall said. “I just hope it gets bigger and bigger from here.”

Kathy DeMers, from Pacific Grove, said she would like to see people come out as often as once a week to keep the conversation going.

“People are caring about what is going on, and if we can draw a crowd like this in Monterey, crowds across the country have got to be just awesome,” DeMers said. “I want people to keep coming out, let’s never stop.”

Ultimately, the goal of the protest is to inspire change on a local level, according to event organizers. For 50501 Monterey, they want local lawmakers to continue showing their support and protect vulnerable communities from potential raids or working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“We’re grateful to have politicians who speak up in Monterey County,” Feldman said, referring to comments made by Monterey City Council members, for example, and the county’s Board of Supervisors, condemning immigration raids. “But we need to ensure we keep protecting our vulnerable communities.”

Event organizers say this will not be the last event of the year and they plan to have more rallies in the coming months.

Cal State Monterey Bay student journalist Layna Hughes contributed to this report.