Protesters towards President Donald Trump and his insurance policies braved frigid temperatures in components of the U.S. Monday, shouting “No kings on Presidents Day!” in East Coast cities and making an attempt to enter the Arizona Statehouse to oppose a invoice that may bolster fast-changing federal immigration enforcement.
In Florida and California, native media retailers reported on lots of of protesters finishing up “Not my Presidents Day” protests. The “No Kings” theme was orchestrated by the 50501 Motion, and marked the second set of protests criss-crossing the nation in lower than two weeks. The same nationwide occasion on Feb. 5 drew contributors in dozens of cities. Each units of rallies denounced Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk, the chief of Trump’s new Division of Authorities Effectivity, a authorities group designed to slash federal spending.
Kathy Wolfe, a 71-year-old Flint native, protests with lots of of individuals gathered on the steps of Michigan’s Capitol, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025 on Presidents’ Day in Lansing, Mich.
Jake Might/The Flint Journal by way of AP
Practically 1,000 individuals marched within the snow from the Statehouse in Boston to Metropolis Corridor, chanting “Elon Musk has received to go” and different slogans. The temperature was under freezing, with frigid wind chills.
Boston protesters, some wearing Revolutionary Struggle-style clothes, carried indicators saying things like “It is a Coup” and “Cowards Bow to Trump, Patriots Stand Up.” One signal had an outline of Uncle Sam saying “I Need You to Resist.”
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“I assumed it was vital to be right here on Presidents Day to exhibit for what America stands for,” stated Emily Manning, 55, a Boston engineer who got here to the rally together with her two teenage sons. “American values should not the values of the plutocracy or the restricted few wealthy individuals.”
Organizers of Monday’s protests, which have been centered on state capitals and main cities together with Washington, D.C.; Orlando, Florida; and Seattle, stated they have been concentrating on “anti-democratic and unlawful actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies.”
One signal on the rally that attracted lots of within the nation’s capital stated, “Deport Musk Dethrone Trump.”
Many demonstrations have been slated for cities the place temperatures have been properly under freezing as a polar vortex labored its method throughout the nation.
A protester holds up an indication as greater than 700 individuals gathered on the steps of Michigan’s Capitol to protest the second administration of President Donald Trump, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025 on Presidents’ Day in Lansing.
Jake Might/The Flint Journal by way of AP
The rallies adopted a sequence of Trump government orders and got here simply days after layoffs throughout federal businesses as a part of an effort to cut back the federal government workforce.
In Phoenix, lots of of protestors gathered in entrance of the Capitol carrying indicators studying “No Kings” and “Resist Fascism.” Safety barred protesters from getting into the constructing after a number of tried to get inside. Demonstrators have been in search of entry to a state Senate committee listening to on laws that may require legislation enforcement officers throughout the state to help federal immigration coverage.
Protest organizer December Archer stated her purpose was to maintain the occasion civil. She rapidly got here between somebody attempting to enter the Statehouse and a safety guard who pushed the protestor again by means of the doorway.
“We’re attempting to verify all the things stays civil and stays respectable as a result of once more, we’re right here to make a press release not be the assertion,” Archer stated.
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Related Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin and Sejal Govindarao in Phoenix contributed to this report.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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