Anti-Trump protest, part of nationwide wave, draws hundreds to Capitol Square
Hundreds of Richmonders gathered outside the Capitol Square Bell Tower Wednesday to protest President Donald Trump and the Project 2025 agenda penned by the Heritage Foundation as a blueprint for his second term.
Organized as part of the national 50501 Movement — standing for “50 states, 50 protests, one day” — the Richmond gathering featured an array of speakers and signs expressing opposition to not only Trump but fascism, restrictions on reproductive rights and immigration crackdowns.
Particular ire was evident toward billionaire Elon Musk, whose actions as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency to slash the federal workforce have caused rising concerns from Democrats. “Nobody voted for Elon,” “Get Elon out of the White House” and “Stop the coup! Defund Musk” were just a handful of slogans carried by protesters.
“We’re here to make it clear that the Heritage Foundation and its secret backers aim to dismantle our rights through Project 2025,” said protest organizer Dia Figueroa. “We’re here to make it clear that we won’t stand by when they undermine our democracy.
In another speech met with shouts of assent and occasional profanities toward the president, Lyn Jones, a 16-year-old self-identified human rights activist, told the crowd that “Trump’s plan was never to make this country great.”
“It was to commit unconstitutional crimes under the shield of the presidency, with his only aim being to benefit himself and the conservative agenda,” she continued.
The Richmond protest, which gained traction largely through posts online on forums such as Reddit, sparked fears from some progressive groups that it was a “false flag” operation intended to identify opponents of the administration.
But there were no signs of that on Capitol Square Wednesday, where the rally, which had been granted a required permit by the Virginia Department of General Services, took place with little incident.
Figueroa warned the crowd early on to abide by the rules for protests on the grounds, telling participants, “We’re not here to incite violence, but we’re rather here to incite change.”
Asked about the gathering, Mayor Danny Avula called for community members to “band together and try to be a support for each other in the face of some pretty challenging directives and decisions from the federal government.”
“Protests are good. Continuing to figure out what legal action can be taken is good,” he said. “But at the end of the day, our job is to try to be as prepared as we can as a local government and a local community to understand what federal funding streams and what federal directives might be on the horizon and to really try to anticipate what those impacts are.”
Reporter Graham Moomaw contributed to this report.
