People gather at Minnesota Capitol in nationwide protest against President Trump
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Hundreds of people rallied at the Minnesota Capitol Wednesday to protest President Donald Trump’s first actions in office.
Protesters marched to the Capitol from St. Paul College, carrying signs denouncing policies on immigration, LGBTQ+ rights and federal agencies.
Reese Melgar works in health care and said he’s worried about Trump’s immigration and health policies.
“I hope that they realize that this is the people’s outcry, that we’re not gonna just roll over and take it, remind them that they work for the people and not the lobbying of corporations,” Melgar said.
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The protestors marched in 20-degree weather, carrying signs that read: “Danger, we are now in a dictatorship” and “Nobody elected Elon.”
Minneapolis lawyer Jacky Williams was joined by her sister, Cathy Williams, from Grand Forks, N.D.
“This is the people’s country,” Williams said. “It’s ours, and we’re going to protect it. And even people who wouldn’t normally speak up like me, are speaking up. We have to speak up because this is our country.”
The protest was one of dozens scheduled to take place across the country today, as part of a loosely organized day of action called “50-50-1,” which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, 1 day. The protests were organized mostly on social media.
One of the organizers of the event, Brielle Barrett, said she put out the call on Facebook and other platforms.
“It was just the call that we’re all feeling that this administration every day it’s something new,” she said. “It’s every person, every walk of life. It’s touching all of us ... our friends, our family and it’s enough. And it’s time for the American people to use their voice and not count on the people that we’re supposed to count on because they’re obviously not doing their job right now.”
She found out about another organizer who used Reddit, and they merged their efforts to pull off the St. Paul event.
