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Baton Rouge among cities across the US to host protests against Trump, Project 2025

1 hour 57 minutes 10 seconds ago Wednesday, February 05 2025 Feb 5, 2025 February 05, 2025 11:57 AM February 05, 2025 in News
Source: Associated Press
Photo: WBRZ photographer at the State Capitol covering the protests.

BATON ROUGE — A movement to oppose the early actions of President Donald Trump’s administration is taking off online, with plans to protest across the U.S. on Wednesday.

One of the protests happened in Baton Rouge where several protestors carried picket signs on the steps of the State Capitol. 

"We will not be silenced by fear," one of the protestors signs read at the Baton Rouge event.

Other signs referenced Fox News, calling it "Fascism and Organized Xenophobia," and decrying Elon Musk's role as the appointed chair of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. 

"Nobody elected Musk," a protestor's sign read.

Others compared Trump unfavorably to Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler.

"We know two other men who tried to take over countries," a woman's sign said.

The movement has organized under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day. Many of the protests were planned at state capitols, with some in other cities.

The movement has websites and accounts across social media. Flyers circulating online decry Project 2025, a hard-right playbook for American government and society, and include messages such as “reject fascism” and “defend our democracy.” In a coffee shop just a block from Michigan’s Capitol, organizers of a planned action there Wednesday pushed together tables, spreading out poster boards to write messages that read “No Deportations Ever!” and “Workers Unite!”

Kelsey Brianne, a key organizer of Michigan’s rally, called it a “real grassroots effort.” She learned about the movement Sunday night and has been coordinating speakers and safety protocols.

“I got involved because I knew that there was a need, and I knew what I could do,” Brianne said Tuesday. “But also I want to look back at this time and say that I did something and I didn’t just sit back.”

Trump has signed a series of executive orders in the first couple of weeks of his new term on everything from trade and immigration to climate change. As Democrats begin to raise their voice in opposition to Trump’s agenda, protests have also begun.

On Sunday, thousands of people marched against Trump’s plan for large-scale deportations in Southern California, including in downtown Los Angeles, where protests shut down a major freeway for hours. A similar protest happened in Baton Rouge.

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