Photo Essay:"50 Protests, 50 States, 1 Day" Rallies Across the Country

A movement to protest the early actions of President Donald Trump’s administration gathered steam on Wednesday, as thousands of demonstrators gathered outside federal buildings and state capitals. Videos were posted by journalists and media outlets across the country showing local protests, and most of this post consists of photographs lifted from social media posts throughout the day.

The "50 States, 50 Protests, One Day" was/is a grassroots effort, organized through social media platforms using hashtags like #buildtheresistance and #50501. These events were promoted as a "decentralized, self-organizing community action event to gather peacefully."

The movement has a website at 50501movement.carrd.co and is active on Instagram, Reddit, Bluesky, Discord and Signal.

Protesters coast to coast waved signs decrying Trump; billionaire Elon Musk, the leader of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency; and Project 2025, a hard-right playbook for American government and society.

Democracy is not a spectator sport! Do something,” said a sign held aloft by one demonstrator in Philadelphia.

Several hundred people gathered outside the federal building in downtown San Diego:

From the Union-Tribune, which added several paragraphs to an Associated Press account:

• A large number of speeches during the event focused on human rights concerns, particularly for immigrants, minorities, LGBTQ+ and pro-Palestinian groups.

• Frances Yasmeen Motiwallo, one of the event’s organizers and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, said the demonstration illustrated multiple advocacy groups coming together in the wake of the Trump inauguration and what they see as his immediate attempt to oppress and malign certain minority groups. El Cajon resident Sergio Conti said he attended the rally because he’s seen his community, which has a large number of Latino and Middle Eastern immigrants, affected by the recent immigration enforcement. Conti, who himself is also an immigrant from Argentina, said people are not going to work and friends are not sending their kids to school.

• “I wish that he could be the best president because my kids live here, and if he does well, the country does well,” Conti said. “But so far, he’s made too many mistakes. Why attack Latinos when we are the force that is moving this country?”

• More protests are scheduled for Sunday in San Diego.

From the Arizona Mirror:

• Derek Duba, another Army veteran, said he came to protest because he knows that silence can be taken as complicity.

• “I personally believe that it’s very important that we’re showing up for these communities that are under attack,” he said. “Standing up for other people, standing up for our simple liberties, standing up for rights, is a huge part of my personal values.”

• Duba said he hopes that Wednesday’s protest is just the beginning of protests and organizing that will lead to change in Congress in 2026.

• “If you feel frustrated, don’t stay frustrated on the internet,” Duba said. “Get out and do something, meet people, talk to people, get involved in a campaign.”

As I researched this post, confusion on the part of many media organizations attempting to cover the protests became evident. The lack of celebrities, high profile leaders, and a formal structure was a stumbling block for reporters looking for “hooks” to build a story around.

And that, my friends, was exactly the point being made here. As dissidents in authoritarian countries around the world have learned, it’s a lot harder to crack down on an amorphous movement that seems to grow with each encounter.

The people of the Republic of Georgia have been protesting their government’s drift into the Russian orbit every day since the end of November. And while authorities have taken a violent tack in dealing with the dissenters, the drip, drip, drip of moral outrage is taking its toll.

Via The Guardian:

• The Georgian Dream government faces growing international isolation and mounting claims of democratic backsliding.

• Last Monday Brussels suspended visa-free travel to the EU for Georgian diplomats and officials, citing the adoption of several repressive laws and the “violent repression by Georgian authorities against peaceful protesters, politicians and independent media”

Continual protests on the streets of Seoul had the effect of preventing a scurrilous martial law declaration by their now-impeached president.

And, now, the promised photos: