A large crowd of demonstrators gathered at the Arizona state Capitol on Saturday to protest against the Trump administration and share their concerns on a multitude of issues. The gathering is a part of the 50501 Movement taking place across the U.S.
People also marched around the Capitol grounds chanting their opposition toward the president and his adviser Elon Musk.
Stephanie Kohnen is a Flagstaff resident who says she is taking a stand for vulnerable communities.
“It breaks my heart to see what he is doing with rounding up people who are immigrants or even here legally and deporting them without any due process. And I think that's wrong," she said.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community also spoke out. That includes Erica Keppler with the Arizona Trans Alliance.
“He's trying to strip away all of our rights and effectively erase our existence. Transgender people are living in a state of terror right now that we don't know what is going to be happening in our future.”
ASU professor Tricia Redeker Hepner says she came for different reasons, including to stand up to the administration’s interference in education.
“We are here to defend intellectual freedom, academic freedom and public higher education, which is a public good. It's necessary to educate informed citizens of the world," she said.
Hepner says the array of issues represented at the protest shows the impact of the administration’s policies.
Tucson also hosted its own 50501 protest.
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