Category Archives: No Kings!

In Remembrance – and for Justice…

By email from Vallejo-Benicia Indivisible, July 27, 2026

Hello Vallejo-Benicia Resisters!

Please join us this coming Saturday as we stand together with our local partners in a solemn national call for truth, mourning, and accountability.

Important Schedule Note: This vigil will replace our regular weekly Stand Up for Democracy gathering this week. We encourage all members to attend and lend their voices to this critical cause.

Community Vigil

📅 Date & Time: Saturday, August 1 | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 Location: Parking Lot near El Barbas Restaurant
(Corner of Broadway & Tennessee St, Vallejo, CA)
🤝 Co-Hosts: Vallejo-Benicia Indivisible & Diaz & Loera Centro Latino

Why We Gather

We are coming together in remembrance of two community members whose lives were tragically cut short:

• Lorenzo Salgado Araujo: A devoted father shot and killed by an ICE agent in Houston, TX, while driving a work van with his crew on his way to a job site.
• Johan Sebastian Guerrero: A 26-year-old food delivery driver fatally shot by ICE in Biddeford, ME, while starting his workday in front of his wife and toddler.

Our Demands for Justice – Together, we will call on local, state, and national leaders to act on the following core demands:

• Independent Investigation: Demand full, transparent investigations independent of ICE, with public findings.
• Protect Witnesses: Immediately release those detained with Lorenzo and safeguard all witnesses from retaliation or deportation.
• End Local ICE Collaboration: Call on local and state leaders to end cooperation and agreements with ICE.
• Congressional Action: Require Congress to use its oversight and funding power to demand answers and accountability.

All community members, faith leaders, workers, and families are welcome. Please bring your friends, neighbors, and posters as we stand together in solidarity.

For more information and resources, visit justice4lorenzoandjohan.org or connect with Diaz & Loera Centro Latino on Facebook at facebook.com/diazloeracentrolatino.

In solidarity,
Vallejo-Benicia Indivisible

4th of July, Democracy under attack, Donald Trump, No Kings!, United States of America

So many greetings of “Happy 4th” feel wrong. And yet, there’s hope…

July 4, 2026 Roger Straw

The United States turns 250 – opportunities to turn it all around, again…

By Timothy Snyder, on YouTube, July 4, 2026

On the Fourth of July, Americans celebrate a rebellion.

To celebrate a rebellion means not to obey in advance, not to accept any of this as normal: not the lies told about the history by the people destroying our future, not the saccharine veneration of the Constitution by people who violate it every day, not the seizure of the mantle of revolution by a band of reactionary oligarchs. It is to be as courageous as you can: to speak the truth, to protect the elections we still have, and above all to organize in a great a joyful coalition.

History is not something that our oligarchs and fascists can take, try though they will today. History is what we make. It does not come to us. We come to it — with what we know, what we say, and what we do. Nothing in history dooms us; and nothing in history saves us. In the months between now and the next elections, there will be much forecasting, speculating, and worrying. None of that matters. All that matters is organizing a great and joyful coalition.

All that matters is the work. If my words are useful, if the beautiful reading here of my words is useful, it is only because those words bring you to act.

To celebrate a rebellion is to know that, from a flawed world, we can make new things. We can hold on, we can find each other, and not just imagine but create a much better America.

Joyful thanks to those who pronounced the lessons: Isabel Allende, Judd Apatow, Margaret Atwood, Joan Baez, Sophia Bush, Misha Collins, Kimberlè Crenshaw, Ted Danson, Ron Funches, Tony Goldwyn, Eric Holder, Jenifer Lewis, Leslie Odom Jr., Sarah Jessica Parker, Billy Porter, Maria Ressa, Lisa Rinna, Molly Ringwald, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Mark Ruffalo, J. Smith-Cameron, Holland Taylor, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Bradley Whitford.

Benicia, Democracy under attack, Donald Trump, Local vigilance, No Kings!

VIDEO: BENICIA NO KINGS DAY #3

June 15, 2026 Roger Straw

Flag Day in Benicia, Benicia Standing Strong…

Video by Dr. Constance Beutel, June 14, 2024

ABOUT 200 GATHERED ON FLAG DAY IN BENICIA, JUNE 14, TO OPPOSE AUTHORITARIAN RULE

JUNE 14—Trump’s Birthday,
The president celebrated and promoted himself
by giving Ultimate Fighting Championship
unfettered access to the White House and Lincoln Memorial
to stage a private, for-profit sports event.

JUNE 14—Flag Day
We supported the republic for which the flag stands. . .
Where power flows from the people,
Where leaders are accountable to the Constitution.

It was festive and encouraging, but we’re not done yet. The danger is real, and we’re in it for the long haul. We will lift every voice in the struggle to save our Democracy – we will continue the momentum. Benicia Standing Strong!

Democracy under attack, Donald Trump, Local vigilance, No Kings!

BENICIA NO KINGS RALLY! Sunday June 14, 12-2PM, See you there!

June 13, 2026 Roger Straw

JUNE 14—Trump’s Birthday,
The president is celebrating and promoting himself
by giving Ultimate Fighting Championship
unfettered access to the White House and Lincoln Memorial
to stage a private, for-profit sports event.

JUNE 14—Flag Day
Support the republic for which the flag stands. . .
Where power flows from the people,
Where leaders are accountable to the Constitution.

The every-Sunday protest in Benicia will gather as usual on this Sunday June 14 at noon. We will be observing it as a No Kings event, with special significance on Flag Day and in opposition to Trump’s disgusting observance of his 80th birthday. EVERYONE please come to Benicia City Park at noon. Bring a flag if you can, & also your signs, noisemakers, and goodwill. We’ll show up, stand strong, and let the world know – the US will never put up with a King! [map / directions]

Later on Sunday… gear up for the nationwide online Indivisible Watch Party at 4:30pm Sunday afternoon (pacific time)! More about the Watch Party here: https://indivisible.org/events/rise-up-sing-out-celebrate-virtual-watch-party/