A protest took place on Presidents’ Day at Florida’s Capitol in support of the 50501 movement that is sweeping the nation.
The event was sponsored by multiple organizations in the Tallahassee community, including the Tallahassee Community Action Committee (TCAC), Food not Bombs (FNB), Rising Voices Collective (RVC), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Occupy Florida and Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).
Joelle Nunez, a member of FRSO, says that sponsoring Monday’s protest was a way to fight against the Trump administration.
“We want to fight back against Trump’s agenda,” Nunez said. “Our community members are more and more vulnerable with every political attack from Trump, and one of the few things we can do right now is protest.”
Hundreds of people showed up to demonstrate support for the movement and protest Project 2025. Protesters carrying signs lined Monroe Street in front of the Historic Capitol and chanted, “Donald Trump is a traitor,” and “Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe!”
Many also encouraged people driving along Monroe Street and Apalachee Pkwy to join the crowd.
Monday’s protests across the country were called “No Kings Day.” Tallahassee was one of the many cities that protested supporting the 50501 movement. According to the 50501 Instagram page, 15 protests occurred in Florida alone on Monday, and many more took place nationwide.
50501 stands for “50 protests, 50 states, 1 day” and emerged on Reddit as a response to the Trump administration’s actions since Trump returned to power four weeks ago. According to a press release posted by the organization, they are “demanding justice, transparency, accountability and an end to executive overreach.” Their first nationwide protests occurred on Feb. 5, and more than 80 protests were organized in every state in America.
This is not the first time people have taken to the Florida Capitol to protest, either. Since the beginning of the year, Tallahassee organizations have held three protests at the Capitol, and many more have occurred at other locations around the city since Trump has taken office.
Alice Bostwick, an SDS member and a 50501 planning coalition representative, says that the Monday’s turnout shows the resistance to Trump’s agenda.
“The 50501 protests are seeing community members who have never attended a protest before coming out,” she said. “Being able to mobilize hundreds of community members this past month shows how unpopular Trump’s agenda is.”
You can learn more about the 50501 movement on their website or by following their Instagram page @50501movement.