‘Shame!’ Protesters across US rally again to condemn Trump policies

Los Angeles/Washington: Thousands of protesters across America again took to the streets to rally against US President Donald Trump and his policies, a sign of sustained resistance to his leadership just two weeks after cities and towns nationwide saw mass demonstrations.

The turnouts in some places such as Washington and Chicago appeared to be smaller than the protests on April 5. Several thousand marched in the nation’s capital on Saturday, US time, compared with tens of thousands earlier this month. Still, more than 700 events were planned, according to one of the organisers, the group 50501.

In front of the White House, protesters repeatedly shouted a single word: “Shame!”

Protesters rally at the state capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the Day of Action protest against the Trump administration. Credit: The Patriot-News via AP

Many demonstrators berated the administration for not bringing Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who the courts have said was wrongfully deported to El Salvador, back to the United States. Waving upside-down American flags, they marched along the eight-lane Constitution Avenue, chanting “Bring Kilmar home”. Trump officials have maintained that Abrego Garcia was a member of the Salvadoran gang MS-13.

Demonstrators expressed concern on a wide range of issues: federal job cuts, their 401(k)s, veterans’ rights, Social Security, the war in Ukraine, transgender and gay rights, and misinformation on autism and vaccines.

“Everything here is a big issue,” said Fio Holloman, 22, who attended a rally in Chicago’s Daley Plaza.

Hundreds of protesters rallied in Fort Worth, Texas, at one point shutting down traffic for at least four blocks. Jeannie Walker, 54, couldn’t land on just one issue when asked what brought her to Saturday’s protest.

“All of it,” she said.

A celebration in Concord, Massachusetts, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution, was not part of the organised network of protests, but some people used the occasion to draw parallels between then and now.

Conan Walter, 65, stood on the Old North Bridge holding a large poster scrawled with the words “Stop fascism now”.

Protesters form an “Impeach & Remove” human banner on Ocean Beach in San Francisco.Credit: San Francisco Chronicle via AP

Still, not everyone in Concord was there to protest. Deborah Bucknam, 78, an avid Trump supporter and lawyer from northern Vermont, said she felt shut out of the political conversation. Bucknam came to Concord to honour American history, and she said political differences shouldn’t overshadow the milestone.

But she acknowledged that demonstrators were allowed to voice their dissent.

“Protests are part of the American experience,” she said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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