“Hey hey, ho ho.” The call at coast-to-coast protest rallies was for President Trump to back off his unilateral reforms and purges. The early crowd at the State Capitol in St. Paul was estimated from headcounts of photographs as 8,000 and swelling to 10,000.
Rochester march crossed Highway 14 from Winona
ROCHESTER, Minn. – About 500 people marched a mile from Soldiers Field to downtown to display their anger at President Trump’s autocratic and dictatorial impulses. The most frequent chant: “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go.” Their posters aimed at a wide range of grievances: Trump’s dismantling of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; ignoring worker rights; disregarding environmental safeguards; disrupting international treaties and trade; pushing racial and ethnic cleansing; snubbing Congress and the Supreme Court with constitutional recklessness; abusing human and civil rights; and pushing for tax cuts for wealthy people with incomes exceeding $400,000. Although loud, the march was peaceful. The demonstration was organized by Indivisible 507, a grassroots Rochester group focused on human rights, veterans rights and constitutional rights. An organizer, Ani Bulbulian, said she had been hoping that southern Minnesota’s representative in Congress, Brad Finstad, would show up to get a feel for the public anger pulsing against Trump policies. Finstad didn’t show. He’s a long-term Trump supporter who has avoided townhalls and other event that evince the depth of public dissatisfaction.
Verbatim
Bulbulian: “Unfortunately, we have not seen a lot of Finstad, and he is our representative. He’s been doing secret meetings and meetings behind closed doors. We want a public town hall. We want him to show up. We want him to answer some questions. He is just not doing that.”
Demonstrations elsewhere in Minnesota
The Rochester march was among several in Minnesota. A demonstrarton at the state Capitol drew thousands. Crowd estimates ranged from 8,000 to10,000. Hundreds of citizens turned out in a protest in Mankato.. Many were college students upset by the ambush arrest of a college student by Trump deportation agents. The agents hauled him away and jailed him without due process.
Demonstrations nationally
Other demonstrations decried Trump threats to the nation’s democratic ideals. These included a march through midtown Manhattan and a rally in front of the White House. Hundreds of protesters at the Colorado State Capitol waved banners expressing solidarity with immigrants. In San Francisco, hundreds spelled out the words “Impeach & Remove” on a sandy Pacific Ocean beach. They also marched with an inverted U.S. flag to show distress. People walked through downtown Anchorage, Alaska, with handmade signs: “No sign is BIG enough to list ALL of the reasons I’m here!” Other protests were outside Tesla car dealerships against billionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk and his role as a Trump operative. Among themes were feelings that Trump has acted like king, not an elected leader in a democracy. The theme was underscored by banners that he’s acting fascist.