(Source: MIRS.news, Published 02/05/2025) An organic gathering of roughly 1,000 people crowded around the Capitol steps Wednesday to publicly reject President Donald Trump, his slew of executive orders, tariffs and verbal proclamations. 

Broken down, the driving interests of those participating in the “50 States, 50 Protests, 1 Day” event were all over the place. Some spoke out in support of LGBTQ residents. Others protested billionaire Elon Musk's role in the new Trump administration. Some want Medicare for all. Still others were for a Palestinian state. Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship was also top of mind. 

The unifying factor was the crowd finding comfort in each other's disgust about Trump being back at the helm. 

“This is really a place for everyone to come together, have that sense of community, feel like we're doing something in reaction to the hundreds of executive orders that we've seen come out that are completely contrary to what this country is actually supposed to be,” said political activist Leaha Dotson. 

Legislators who had a chance to address the crowd included Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), Rep. Emily Dievendorf (D-Lansing), Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) and Rep. Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City). Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) appeared poised to address the crowd, but had to leave before organizers could get to her. 

Dievendorf said high numbers of attendees show communities are scared and already seeing Trump's policies translate into more hardships in their daily lives. However, they are also “angry, committed and quickly organizing to stand up for democracy and their neighbors.” 

“Nobody voted for the dismantling of our very democracy and if elected officials won't hold the line, our constitution will," Dievendorf said. "They shouldn't have to do it alone.” 

Said Wegela about Wednesday’s gathering: "It shows people are willing to fight back. People have woken up that our country is falling into an authoritarian fascist dictatorship where the rule of law doesn't matter,” Wegela said. “There is some energy here to be captured.” 

He added, “Where is our Governor's comments on this? This is a pretty big deal and I feel like we need our governor to explain what is happening at a national level.” 

Another familiar face in the crowd was Rep. Matt Maddock (R-Milford), a ground-floor Trump supporter, who walked through the crowd, making video amid boos and chants. 

“Don't engage. Do not engage. That's what they want,” a speaker told the crowd as they parted for him. 

“Just walked around the Capitol trying (to) figure out where the pot smell was coming from,” Maddock said in response to Detroit News reporter Craig Mauger's video on X. 

Numerous organizations spread the word through such social media outlets as Reddit and Discord, said Rep. Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park), who attended what ended up being nearly two hours of speeches.  

“These were normal, regular people who pulled together, like nine-to-five moms,” said Sam Inglot, executive director of Progress Michigan. “I hopped into a group chat like yesterday, two days, and we were off and running.”