Thousands of people nationwide gathered on Saturday to voice their opposition to President Trump’s administration and several of its policy initiatives.
Lafayette Square outside the White House was packed with demonstrators in the morning while some rallied near the Washington Monument amid gatherings in New York, Massachusetts and other states. Signs displayed condemned the war in Gaza, mass layoffs and the deportation of Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
“Donald Trump has defied a direct, binding order from the United States Supreme Court. Let that sink in,” the protest organizing group 50501 wrote in a Thursday post two days prior to the public demonstrations.
“This is not a theoretical crisis. This is not an abstract fear. This is the moment that confirms our Constitution has been crippled,” they added.
The organization’s title represents 50 protests in 50 states and one movement — the group’s first mobilization of protests was on President’s Day at different state Capitols.
Their message has resonated with those frustrated by the White House’s pledge not to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. from a Salvadoran prison despite acknowledging his removal was made in an “administrative error” in violation of a 2019 order from an immigration court. Still, President Trump and his officials suggest Abrego Garcia has ties to the MS-13 gang and their criminal activity.
“This is a very perilous time in America for liberty,” Thomas Bassford, who attended a Massachusetts demonstration with his partner, daughter and two grandsons told the Associated Press. “I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”
Others said they attended to combat Trump’s leadership, which they equated to a fascist regime.
“He’s defying the courts. He’s kidnapping students. He’s eviscerating the checks and balances,” George Bryant, a Boston resident, told AP. “This is fascism.”
Saturday’s mass gatherings in objection to the Trump administration are not the first. The Tesla Takedown movement has launched over 150 demonstrations worldwide to protests Elon Musk’s role in the White House in addition to April’s “Hands Off!” rallies in more than 1,000 cities across all 50 states touting nearly 400,000 participants.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on demonstrations but did make a Saturday post online in reference to Abrego Garcia.
“SATURDAY WORDS OF WISDOM If he tattoos like MS-13, beats women like MS-13, and tramples the law like MS-13—THEN HE’S PROBABLY MS-13,” they wrote in a mid-afternoon post on X.
