About 1,000 people lined the sidewalks at corner of Andresen Road and Fourth Plain Boulevard on Saturday to protest of the policies of President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk.
Protesters held up signs and banners as they waved to passing motorists who honked their horns in a sign of support.
“That number was close to what we were expecting,” said Kathleen Proudfoot of 50501 Clark County WA, the group that helped organize Saturday’s event. “It’s definitely nothing compared to our numbers at Esther Short Park on April 5, when we had over 7,000 people.”
Protests unfurled across the nation as part of a National Day of Action called by 50501, a grassroots group protesting President Donald Trump’s actions since he took office in January. The name is short for “50 protests, 50 states, one movement.”
Events were held Saturday in Portland, Seattle, Spokane, Olympia and elsewhere across the country. The April 19 date was chosen to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution.
“Even in the small town near Mount Rainier where my mom grew up, it’s a very conservative area, but one of her best friends was part of a turnout there with her family,” Proudfoot said. “People are coming out in droves from all corners. … Out here, we have ourselves, our neighbors, our friends, our family, colleagues. We have strangers right now only because we haven’t met them yet. We want to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard and work together to fight through the very real threat of fascism that we are facing here in America.”
Saturday’s event took place near the Tesla dealership on Fourth Plain to protest the cuts made to federal programs through the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency.
Protesters lined along all four points leading into the intersection to form an X, a nod to the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that Musk also owns.
“It’s a very enthusiastic crowd,” Proudfoot said. “We have a lot of energy, a lot of energy from passersby, a lot of honking going on, a lot of people starting their own chants focusing on democracy, anti-Musk, anti-oligarchy.”
Indivisible Greater Vancouver, MoveOn Clark County, 50501 Clark County WA and Pasitos Gigantes organized Saturday’s demonstration at the Tesla dealership.
Saturday’s protest was the latest in a string of demonstrations in Vancouver.
Indivisible Greater Vancouver has been rallying twice a week at the Tesla dealership, but activists have also organized demonstrations at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, the local offices of Southwest Washington’s congressional delegation, busy intersections and Esther Short Park.
Proudfoot said the group’s next big event will be held at noon May 1 at Esther Short Park. The May Day protest will focus on immigrants’ rights, workers’ rights and unionizing.
