WASHINGTON — Hundreds of people from across the country descended on the Capitol Reflecting Pool Monday for a President’s Day protest that organizers said was meant “to uphold the Constitution and end executive overreach” by the Trump administration.
The demonstration was the second this month organized by the 50501 Movement, a grassroots group that organizes mass protests against Donald Trump’s administration policies. Close to a dozen cities held similar demonstrations on Monday.
At the Capitol, protesters arrived dressed in multiple layers because of the frigid temperatures. Many carried signs condemning recent decisions and actions from the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s DOGE team. Some of the signs read, “Make America great again, deport Trump and Musk” and “No one voted for Elon Musk.”
(Jerry Wu/MNS)
Nadine Seiler, a Maryland resident, said before Monday she had joined many other protests against the Trump administration, including when the president was first indicted.
Seiler is also an immigrant and she remembers being excited for a new start when she arrived in the U.S. from Trinidad and Tobago over 30 years ago. But the “hope” she once felt has completely disappeared in the last few weeks, she said.
“I was sold on American exceptionalism, I was sold on American democracy, I was sold on American checks and balances,” Seiler said. “Right now I feel bamboozled … we have a fascist dictator in the White House voted in by the American people.”
Seiler held a sign criticizing Elon Musk’s growing role in the Trump administration (Jerry Wu/MNS)
By noon, the rally stretched from one end of the reflecting pool to the other. The American flags that some protesters brought flailed in the lashing winds.
While the event mainly drew attendees from the local area, others had made the long journey the night before to get there in time.
Eve Pugh, a veterinarian from New York City, began her drive from home late Sunday night. She said she’s been “terrified” about how the Trump administration has conducted itself with executive orders back in office.
“The other option was to go to my state capitol, even my city hall, but I felt I needed to make my face seen here in D.C,” said Pugh, carrying a sign that said “unlawful, un-American, unconstitutional, Elon must go” written in black sharpie.
Organizers of the rally led the crowd in chants, including “save federal workers” and “no American king.” They later opened a public forum for protesters to speak and share their stories.
(Jerry Wu/MNS)
Bill Christeson said he is no stranger to the Trump administration’s agenda.
Now 70, Christeson remembers after college traveling to the Philippines during its dictatorial hold under Ferdinand Marcos. He soon began working with Filipino and American officials there to advocate for the U.S. to stop supporting Marcos’ regime.
(Jerry Wu/MNS)
Today, he said he increasingly sees glaring parallels between Marcos’ administration and Trump’s. For the last year, he traveled to numerous battleground states to protest against Trump leading up to the presidential election.
“I have seen up close when we don’t have democracy,” Christeson said. “Don’t expect things to get better, they will get worse, and the only question is how long it will last, and that is up to us.”
