Protests are set to take place on Monday across the country to make it known that this President’s Day, Americans are pissed at President Donald Trump and unelected co-president Elon Musk’s power grab of democracy.
The demonstrations, called “No Kings on Presidents Day” or “No Kings Day,” are led by 50501, an online grassroots activist group that started on Reddit. The group initially stood for “50 protests, 50 states, one day,” but it has morphed into “50 protests, 50 states, one movement.”
The No Kings Day protest was the group's second wave of anti-Trump and Musk demonstrations. The first nationwide protests took place on Feb. 5 across state capitols. The movement focused on the White House’s dismantling of government agencies and threatened prosecution for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. It explicitly targets Musk’s hostile takeover of sensitive personal data in the U.S. government.
This time, 50501 partnered with Political Revolution to list nearly 80 events on its website. This allowed users to find a protest happening near them to attend. The group is a “leaderless” movement, which encourages others to create their own activist groups in their circles.
According to a press release, 50501 states that the coalition was created to demand “justice,” “transparency,” and “accountability” to “uphold the Constitution” and end Trump and Musk’s “executive overreach.”
Videos of protests began trickling in on social media on Monday.
One was of a group of protesters at Dallas City Hall, banging drums. In Austin, Texas, the state capital, another group chanted, “This is what Democracy looks like,” and held signs that read “America is NOT for sale.” A few hundred protesters stood outside of Georgia’s state House holding signs that read “fElon” and honking cars.
“What we’re trying to get out there is we are one,” a protester in Georgia said over a megaphone.
Protests will take place at multiple state capitols and city halls throughout the day, including on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Multiple events are also scheduled across Washington state and California.
This comes as another group of protesters targeted Tesla dealerships over the weekend. Musk’s Tesla sales have been in an unprecedented decline since he got on the right-wing political scene in support of MAGA.
Ever the classy man, Trump announced his own President’s Day celebration by posting his mugshot—the same one he now keeps outside the Oval Office—and presidential photograph on Monday using the official White House Instagram account.
“They’re not after me, they’re after you—I’m just standing in the way,” the White House post said. “Happy Presidents’ Day.”
Presidents Day was created in the 1880s to celebrate the birthday of President George Washington, but in Trump’s second term, it’s shaping up to be a day of resistance.
“We stand firm at a critical moment in history, demanding that the American people be heard and that the White House be governed by the true will of the people—not by a tech billionaire who seeks to buy influence and control,” the group said in a press release.
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