Hundreds of San Franciscans gathered in front of City Hall on Tuesday afternoon, both to protest President Donald Trump as he celebrated his first year back in office, and to declare plans to protest again over the next three years.
The rally was organized by a coalition of progressive organizations after a call to action from the Women’s March.
Some held signs opposing the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela. Others demanded the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Many carried posters featuring Renee Good, the woman who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, earlier this month. Protesters chanted her name on several occasions throughout the afternoon.
“In 2025, we were caught on the back foot,” Arthur Wolf, from 50501 San Francisco, told the crowd in front of City Hall. “But we built power. In 2026, we solidify our power and we fight back.”
Also in attendance was District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen, who talked about a resolution she introduced at last week’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors, demanding that state and federal partners push for a third-party investigation into all ICE-related deaths nationwide, and calling for a moratorium on ICE detentions until the results of the investigation are made available and corrective action is implemented.
“In this moment, it is more important than ever to continue to stand together, to go against these terror attacks against our communities,” Chen said, drawing cheers from the crowd.
After gathering at Civic Center, protesters marched downtown before ending their march in front of the San Francisco Federal Building. Organizers estimated the number of protesters at 1,500.
Similar demonstrations were held across the country, including in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., and organizers encouraged people around the country to walk out of their jobs or classes to participate — and to plan resistance to the Trump administration.
“On January 20, we call on our communities to organize teams,” read the call to action. “Call your neighbors and classmates, and turn your back and walk out on fascism. Host mutual aid planning meetings, organize public service, but walk out to block the normal routines of power, and make the stakes real. This is a protest and a promise. In the face of fascism, we will be ungovernable.”
Stella Gamez, a senior at Mission High, walked out of her class on Tuesday afternoon with several of her classmates to join the protest at City Hall. Her teachers were understanding, she said.
“I came here for the abolishment of ICE. They need to get out of all our states,” she said. “They’re making these lies against my people. And I don’t appreciate that.”
Leila Salazar, executive director of Amazon Watch, a nonprofit organization advocating for the environment and indigenous rights in the Amazon Basin, attended the rally with her daughter. “Every single day of this year has been marked with chaos caused by the U.S. federal government,” she said. “This is not the world that we want to live in.”
Organizers encouraged the crowd to join a general strike on Jan. 23 by staying home from work or school and refraining from shopping.
The strike was endorsed by ISAIAH, a nonprofit coalition of Minnesota faith and community groups, and several unions, as a show of defiance against the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent, and ICE’s continued presence in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Achieving a general strike is very difficult to do; by definition, enough people have to participate so that economic activity in an area is almost entirely halted. (In San Francisco, the best-known historical example is the 1934 Waterfront Strike). A long list of businesses in Minneapolis have already announced that they are closing on the 23rd.
Excellent photos! Good going protesters!
By participating in a general strike to show its solidarity with the besieged people in Minneapolis, San Franciscans and our Bay Area neighbors would be making a forceful statement about where the real power in our country lies and what needs to be done to save civilization.
Real power…
… is not with the lawless Trump administration that flagrantly murders, lies, and steals.
… It is not with the courts, which have been packed, subverted and crippled.
… It is not with the Democratic Party (which called Trump a fascist when it campaigned against him, but then rolled out the red carpet for him after he was elected).
…It is not with the corrupt union bureaucracies that today specialize in dividing workers and making backroom deals with managements. (The UAW under Shawn Fain and the Teamsters under Sean M. O’Brien now openly ally with Trump. Why aren’t they organizing their members in a general strike?)
… It is not with the fake-leftists of the Green Party or the Democratic Socialists of America who promise reform and preach patience, but more reliably deliver votes to the Democratic Party (which like the Republican Party is focused on Wall Street, profits and war). (Before he was inaugurated NYC mayor, Zohran Mamdani made a beeline to the White House to assure Trump that he could be cooperated on.)
… Real power does not even reside on Wall Street or with the planet’s 12 richest individuals (who, according to Oxfam, own more than the poorest half of humanity, or 4 billion people!
Where is the real power? Should it be a deep, dark secret?
Real power rests with the working class. We the people!
All out for a general strike!
The Mollahs in Iran are killing their own people , the orange mollah in the US with his gestapo is also killing his own people as well..Rogue state. Reality check for ex-republican party since their party, on its knees and submissive, is now officially a cult .