A man waves an American flag outside the Arkansas Capitol as dozens of fellow protesters surround him on Feb. 5, 2025. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)
Pride flags, signs in Spanish and chants like “Dump Trump” characterized a protest on the steps of the state Capitol Wednesday afternoon where at least 200 Arkansans voiced their opposition to national leadership.
The protest was a local grassroots effort shared widely on social media like Facebook and Reddit, but the rally was also part of a larger movement from 50501 against President Donald Trump and the Project 2025 agenda.
50501 signifies 50 protests, 50 states, one day. The numerical tag is not representative of an organization, though Wednesday’s protests are listed on buildtheresistence.org, a phrase that circulated online with the 50501 message.
“The 50501 movement is a decentralized rapid response to the anti-democratic, destructive, and, in many cases, illegal actions being undertaken by the Trump administration and his plutocrats,” according to the website.
Kylie Hurley, a single mom from Little Rock, said she was fearful of the current political climate and “people getting killed just for existing.”
“They’re trying to strip the rights of everyone who isn’t a straight, white male, and it’s been going on for way too long,” Hurley said, getting emotional. “It almost feels pointless, and when I was feeling that way I made myself get up and come out.”
Hurley said being at the protest helped her realize the feeling of community, and “the more this kind of thing happens, we’ll feel less scared.”
Trump won the 2024 election in Arkansas by a wide margin statewide.
The state government operates with a Republican supermajority. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders served as Trump’s press secretary during his first term, and she has consistently shared positive sentiments about his reelection. During her State of the State address in January, Sanders referred to Trump as a “partner and ally in the White House.”
Trump appointed Sanders’ father and former Gov. Mike Huckabee as the ambassador to Israel.
While the protest lacked a formal organizer, Cynthia Cohen acted as a central presence and regularly riled up the crowd while recording the scene with a video camera.
Cohen said she moved out of Arkansas for some time, and when she moved back to take care of her mother, “I was scared. I was afraid to even put a bumper sticker on my car for fear of retaliation from the MAGA mania.”
Ruth Backes holds a sign of an imprisoned Statue of Liberty at a protest outside the Arkansas Capitol on Feb. 5, 2025. Backes, who was also wearing earrings in the shape of guillotines, said she has used her sign at a number of different protests and it remains relevant. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)
Since Trump returned to the White House, Cohen said, there have been too many concerning actions to name. Her worries also extended to the president’s relationship with billionaire Elon Musk and other powerful tech moguls.
“If everyone in America wasn’t quaking in their boots at the inauguration to see the richest people, not just in America but in the world, standing next to the leader of the freest, greatest nation in the world — if that didn’t scare you, you don’t know what it’s like to live in an autocracy,” Cohen said.
Cohen said Arkansas-based protests are just as important as ones in other red states to push back on strong conservative messaging. She said Arkansas was being “bullied and run over by Trump clones like Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her father and everyone that sides with them.”
Since Trump’s inauguration, Arkansas lawmakers have brought bills and referenced national policies that are in line with the efforts the president is making in his second term. While protesters were shouting their frustrations outside the Capitol, a debate over a bill to weaken or eliminate diversity initiatives was happening inside.
As someone who has immigrant family members, protester Wendy Sierra said she traveled from Russellville to stand up for her beliefs.
“They are great people, [the] most hard-working people that I know, and I want to be here to represent for them, and for people that maybe can’t have their voices heard right now,” Sierra said.
Sierra held a sign that read “Nadie es libre cuando otros están oprimidos,” which translates to “No one is free when others are oppressed” in English.
Protester Skyler Shankles said he was present Wednesday to represent the LGBTQ+ community that he’s part of and his friends who are immigrants lacking a permanent legal status, transgender people and women.
“I think it’s so silly that our state is so terrified of brown-skinned and Black-skinned people, and queer people and trans people,” Shankles said. “It’s laughable that they’re so upset that they have to take away things like including us or making sure we have the right access to health care that affirms us. … It doesn’t affect a cis person that they get that treatment.”
Shankles said his sign, which read “Diversity makes us stronger,” was made by a drag queen and was a better alternative to a less polite one he said he crafted.
“As angry as I am, I bit my tongue,” Shankles said.
Also present at the protest representing justice for minorities was Daryl Bernard, a graduate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s William H. Bowen School of Law.
“I’m out here to show support in any way I can because one thing that I have noticed in Arkansas is that it seems like we don’t have a voice because it’s a red state,” Bernard said. “But coming out here and seeing this, it does make you feel like you still are heard, so I just want to be a part of it.”
Protesters gathered for approximately two hours, shouting back-to-back rhythmic chants sparked by the variety of attendees. Drivers on the nearby street honked to show support for their efforts, and many raised their fists or gave thumbs up through their windows.
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