Protesters outside the Georgia Capitol decry President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda as part of the 50501 movement. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Demonstrators gathered in Atlanta Thursday afternoon to protest President Donald Trump’s actions in the early weeks of his second term.
Several hundred people gathered in Centennial Olympic Park bearing signs expressing outrage for a wide range of policies, especially restrictions on transgender Americans, the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, support for Israel’s war in Gaza and the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Similar protests popped up across the country as part of a movement sparked on social media called 50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day.
Among the crowd were young activists Ashleigh Hammon and Van Waldron, who drove three hours from Hartwell to the rally.
“I’m here for my mother and her partner who cannot go out today and fight for their rights,” Hammon said. “I remember her crying about how happy she was when she was able to love who she wanted to love, and I want to keep that and I want to cry when I get my rights back.”
The two said they feel strongly about progressive issues, which can put them at odds with some in more conservative Hartwell, including members of their own families.
Waldron, a 20-year-old transgender man, said he’s been threatened when leaving the house.
“That’s the truth of the world, people are getting bolder in all of the wrong ways, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have to stay meek, we want to be bold as well,” he said.
Hammon said it was the first time the two had been to a real protest, and she was impressed with the atmosphere.
“I love the support, I love how everyone here has each other’s backs,” she said. “There are people handing out waters to people who are thirsty. There are people helping disabled people cross the street. We’re all here for each other, and it’s a lovely environment to be a part of.”
Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
The protesters gathered their signs and flags and marched from the park to the state Capitol, chanting pro-reproductive rights and pro-immigrant slogans along the way. Organizers told participants that they had not obtained permits to demonstrate so they would have to stick to the sidewalks, and the crowd obeyed, staying off the street and stopping to wait at crosswalks.
Trump was the No. 1 target of ire from the protesters, with signs portraying him in crude caricature, calling for his impeachment and demeaning his physical characteristics.
Self-described “first buddy” Elon Musk was a close second, however, with marchers lamenting the world’s richest man’s role in the new administration.
“I think that corporations for a long time have corrupted our politics in this country through political donations and lobbyists, and I think that the government has stopped representing the people and they only represent the corporate interests,” said Braden Hoskovec.
“I definitely think that Elon Musk has kind of taken the mask off of that a little bit and just fully come out and decided that he can do whatever he wants and it’s not even ‘oh, I’m going to donate to Trump and he’s going to do this,’ it’s ‘give me my own office and I’m going to just tear it all down,’” he added.
Once they arrived at the Capitol, demonstrators took up positions on the back stairs and across the street and continued to chant.
Capitol Police closed the back gate to the Capitol, but lawmakers and others were able to access the building. Police maintained a presence throughout the demonstration, but the protest remained peaceful.
At one point, police approached three or four protesters who sat down on a crosswalk behind the Capitol, apparently intending to block traffic. Other protesters stood on the sidewalk and shouted for them to get off the road, which they eventually did without incident.
Brittany Blount was among the marchers chanting “My body, my choice.”
Blount said she wanted to tell state lawmakers about her story.
“Think about if it was your baby girl, think about if she was a 14-year-old girl like I was,” she said.
“I have a fully grown 11-year-old boy now, and he’s amazing, and I love him to death, but that was my choice. My choice to have my child at 14 years old, and a lot of girls are not going to have that choice. A lot of young girls, minors are not going to have that choice.”
As the sun went down, the focus shifted to immigration as a slightly smaller group led by the Party for Socialism and Liberation marched from the Capitol to ICE’s Atlanta field office bearing signs written in English and Spanish.
Blount’s husband, Noe Lorenzo, said he was at the protest to support immigrants in the country who lack permanent immigration status.
Lorenzo said he is a citizen, but his parents are not.
“My parents worked here all their lives,” he said. “They pay taxes here and all that, they pay their taxes every year, and they’re not out there getting arrested or anything like that like some other Americans are. They fear they’re gonna get arrested just because they’ve got to go to work or go buy groceries for the house.”
Lorenzo said he’s had to have discussions with his parents about what to do if ICE shows up.
“I’ve told them not to open the door unless they have a warrant for one of them, they know better than to open the door,” he said.
“They know to show documentation through the window, don’t ever open the door for anybody unless they have documentation or identity showing who they’re with,” Blount added. “If you don’t have a warrant, they know that they’re not welcome in their house. It is scary having these conversations with your parents or with your children.”
In addition to Mexican and transgender pride flags, several marchers waved the red, black, white and green Palestinian flag.
Activist Jawahir Sharwany is Palestinian and was born and raised in Jerusalem. She’s lived in Atlanta since 1995. Sharwany said she’s used to protesting, and she predicted demonstrations like Wednesday’s will become commonplace over Trump’s second administration.
“We’re not scared. We’re not going to back down from this,” she said. “He can do all the policies he wants, but it’s not going to be any difference to us. It’s the same thing. We’re not going to stop fighting here for immigrants, for people of color, of gender, of race. We’re not going to stop. The way we did it for the Palestinians for 17 months, right now, it’s all over the world.”
Deputy Editor Jill Nolin contributed to this report.
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