Crowds of protesters lined up outside U.S. Vice President JD Vance's residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington D.C. on Saturday to condemn President Donald Trump's executive overreach as part of a nationwide movement.
More than 700 events were planned on that day across the United States by the 50501 movement (50 protests, 50 states, one movement), a grassroots initiative calling for nationwide protests.
Organizers say they oppose what they call Trump's civil rights violations and constitutional violations, including efforts to deport immigrants and to scale back the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and effectively shuttering entire agencies.
Since his January inauguration, Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, have gutted the federal government, firing over 200,000 workers and attempting to dismantle various agencies.
The administration has also detained scores of foreign students and threatened to stop federal funding to universities over diversity, equity and inclusion programs, climate initiatives and pro-Palestinian protests. Rights groups have condemned the policies.
"I am someone who is looking forward to my retirement, which I see get ready to be demolished. But also I'm a caretaker, I have an elderly father who has worked his entire life and I'm here to fight for my father who fought for me. He relies on the social security and so does my my sister," said a protester.
"The Congress has abdicated their authority to an authoritarian who is breaking our laws, stomping all over the constitution and acting like a dictator and we need to stop them. So where do we begin? We need to save our democracy, we need to save our planet, and we need to protect our allies. That's why I'm here," said another protester.
The protests come just two weeks after the similar "Hands Off" demonstrations that drew tens of thousands in cities across the country.
Protesters rally in Washington against Trump's executive overreach
Protesters rally in Washington against Trump's executive overreach
