The power of the people is greater than the people in power. That was the resounding message Saturday as more than 600 citizens took to the steps of the Alabama State Capitol to air a litany of grievances against the presidency of Donald Trump.
The protest in Montgomery was one of an estimated 1,400 events across the country Saturday in a mass mobilization of millions crying out against numerous Trump policies. Protesters also formed in Birmingham, Huntsville, Opelika — and even the tiny town of Dadeville.
The protests touched on many issues: Trump’s disregard for due process in the removal of noncitizens, Elon Musk and DOGE’s wrecking ball approach to dismantling the federal government, Trump’s push to purge DEI and LGBTQ+ rights from every nook and cranny of government institutions, the crashing of the stock market through Trump’s unprecedented tariffs.
An organizer from the nonprofit Indivisible at the Montgomery rally remarked that about 10 times as many people showed up as they had expected.
State Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, joined the crowd Saturday and told APR that he hopes the turnout sends a message to lawmakers in D.C. and at home that people are greatly concerned about the actions being taken by the administration.
And while some Alabamians took their voices to the State Capitol, others like Zeb Lemon and Melanie Kolowski went straight to the top and joined the biggest protest of the weekend in Washington D.C.
“At the end of the day, my co-organizer and I finally made it up to the White House,” Lemon said. “Three layers of ten foot steel fencing surrounding the People’s House was as good a sign as any that the regime in charge is utterly terrified of the people. The arrogance they exhibit while tearing down the institutions and laws built over centuries is purely a facade, covering a cowardice so exquisite that it literally obscures the view of the White House with black steel lattice.”
Thousands ended up marching in D.C. with other massive protests in cities like New York and Boston.
