TAMPA, Fla. — Hundreds of people gathered downtown on Monday to protest President Donald Trump's administration.
It was just one of the protests from the 50501 movement that took place nationwide.
“People aren’t happy with what they’re seeing in government, and this is what happens when you step that far over the line in the White House — your constituents get upset,” said Tsi Day Smyth, one of the organizers of the Tampa event.
Smyth said 15 of the 50501 protests were planned across Florida. While she and other organizers said people came out for different reasons, they said their goal was to speak out against what they say is overreach by the Trump administration.
“The people, united, will never be defeated!” was one of the chants that rang out from the group of hundreds that gathered along East Kennedy Boulevard on Presidents Day afternoon.
The passion was personal for some protesters.
“I don’t want my trans brothers and sisters to be erased. I don’t want freedom and democracy to be erased. I don’t want a king,” said protester Jen Ren.
“My mother is an immigrant. She’s from the Philippines. Seeing the way that immigrants are treated in America right now has affected me,” said Nicole Morgan with the group Tampa Activists United.
Organizers said the Trump administration's stances on these issues and more are the reason behind the 50501 movement. It stands for 50 protests in 50 states, held in one day.
The president's first month in office was marked by a flurry of executive orders. They included one banning birthright citizenship and others aimed at reducing migration to the U.S. Others impacted the transgender community, including one that restricts gender transition health care for people younger than 19 years old. It wasn't just Trump with whom the crowd took issue.
"Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Elon Musk has got to go!" protesters chanted at one point.
Musk is head of the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. It's working to reduce government spending, in part by cutting the federal workforce.
Among the Tampa crowd were two Trump supporters.
"I came out here to support my president because I love America, and I love the things that he's doing," said Joel Patrick, who held up a banner reading "Trump 2024 Save America" with another man.
One of the topics Patrick said he disagreed with the crowd on was immigration.
"If people are going to be here illegally, they need to understand that they're in violation of the laws, and they're going to have to go back to their home countries and come in the right way," said Patrick. "I think when we have situations and processes in place, it's disrespectful for people to not follow those laws and then get upset when they find out that those laws are going to be enforced."
Beth Weinstein with Indivisible Action Tampa Bay said immigration is the lifeblood of the U.S.
"We are demonizing the wrong people," Weinstein said. "We have a felon who is president right now, someone who has been convicted of 34 felonies, and we're demonizing people who want to come here for a better life for their children."
There was some friction between the Trump supporters and other protesters, but it didn't escalate.
"They're concerned about democracy, yet they're holding up signs saying that they hate fascism while they come to shout down people with opposing opinions. Their hypocrisy is laughable," said Patrick.
Morgan said she wanted the protest to inspire those who attended and others who saw the crowd in front of Tampa City Hall.
"What I'm hoping is that people will start getting involved in local organizations, that they'll organize and mobilize and figure out ways they can help the community," she said.
Smyth said 50501 is a very decentralized movement, and there are not concrete next steps planned. She said groups are focusing on bringing about change at the state level and seeing how things progress from there.
