Jesse Abraham of Louisville speaks to protesters gathered outside the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort to oppose recent actions by President Donald Trump, Feb. 5, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)
FRANKFORT — Protesters at the Kentucky Capitol — brought together by the internet — shared their anger at recent moves by President Donald Trump Wednesday.
Across the country, protesters made plans on social media, including in the 50501 subreddit, to gather in state capitals on Wednesday to take a stand against Trump over recent executive orders and actions like giving tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency access to the U.S. Treasury’s payment system.
Jesse Abraham, of Louisville, became involved in the group because of Reddit and said the call to action shared online was easy to follow and replicate in Kentucky. He said organizers of the protest had the goal of getting people informed.
“We didn’t come here to make enemies,” Abraham said. “We came here to make sure everybody knew what was happening and that we could hear our voices and that we could participate in the political process and tell our people what we expect of them.”
The crowd gained more than 200 people on Wednesday as speakers, including Abraham, shared their experiences, led chants or read from Trump’s executive orders.
Before the protest, some made signs outside the Capitol. While he wrote a sign that called on people to “Protect Our Rights,” Mark Cole, of Lawrenceburg, said he learned of the protest through social media and websites. As a transgender man, he said he has experienced problems with getting medication he needs.
“I’m personally scared that more of my rights are going to be taken away,” Cole said, adding that was both at the federal and state level.
The president has signed executive orders banning gender-affirming medical care for minors and barring transgender people from serving in the military, among other edicts targeting transgender Americans.
He signed a sweeping executive order last week that aims to bar federal funding for schools that teach “discriminatory equity ideology.” The administration describes that as “an ideology that treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups, rather than as individuals, and minimizes agency, merit, and capability in favor of immoral generalizations.”
Cole said he “absolutely” felt inspired to get more politically involved ahead of the protest and hoped politicians would listen to the protesters.
As for what’s next, Abraham was unsure.
“I don’t know what happens. I don’t,” Abraham said. “What happens is we tell our representatives what we want, and they do it or they don’t, and then we respond accordingly.”
