Protesters nationwide took to the streets over Easter weekend in a demonstration against President Trump’s administration. The protests, which are part of the grassroots 50501 movement – short for 50 protests, 50 states, 1 day – included rallies, food drives, donation campaigns and various other demonstrations meant to raise awareness and pressure government action. The movement’s two main goals are to uphold the constitution and end executive overreach, and says it will “continue to hold massive protests nationwide until these 2 calls are satisfied by our elected officials.” They ultimately aim to involve 11 million people, around 3.5% of the US population, which they consider to be the number necessary to make a difference.
The movement originated on Reddit as a response to the second Trump administration, and now has grown to include over a thousand locations across the United States. 50501 refers to itself as without true leadership, instead relying on local organizing as well as “national coordination between 50501 groups to establish cohesive messaging, decide dates of action, and share resources.” It has organized peaceful demonstrations ranging from the “Hands Off!” campaign on April 5, which saw nearly 5.2 million people protest against the administration’s “billionaire power grab,” to the “No Kings” protest on April 19, to the “May Day Strong: Stop the Billionaire Takeover” campaign planned for May 1.
Other than protests, local 50501 movements organized pop-up food banks, donation campaigns for basic goods and neighborhood cleanups. Emphasizing nonviolence, the movement says it is “rooted in constitutional rights and peaceful civic action.”
“I think the main idea is visibility,” says Vasil Çobo, a representative for the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a labor union partnered with 50501. “The more people we get involved, and the more that action is coordinated, the harder it gets to ignore people.”
The most recent demonstration, on Saturday, April 19, saw protesters rally in Manhattan, Washington D.C. and Boston, among various places. Signs calling for the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was arrested and deported in March due to what the Trump Administration called an “administrative error,” filled the streets. Many accuse the administration of disobeying the Supreme Court’s ruling to facilitate Garcia’s return to the United States.
Though the 50501 movement does not have any official positions on topics, many of their protests center around the Trump administration’s stances on immigration, shutting down of federal agencies, Russian-American relations and Ukraine, corruption within the federal government and budget cuts.
“I would say it shows that this is something that is impacting us nationwide. People are displeased, both in big cities and in small towns,” says Linh Nguyen, also a representative for AFGE. “This is a legitimate threat to the very fabric of our country, and what we have stood for for hundreds of years as a democracy.”