Banners, slogans, marches: Thousands hit streets in ‘50501’ anti-Trump protests across US | 10 points

Thousands rallied against Trump and his policies on issues such deportations and anti-LGBTQ laws across the US on Saturday.

Nearly a fortnight after people across the United States stood up against their President Donald Trump and his policies in an agitation called ‘Hands Off’, similar protests erupted in the country on Saturday too. Thousands of people across the United States took out rallies opposing several contentious schemes of the current Trump administration, including deportations, support for Israel in war with Gaza, federal firings and shutting of key federal departments, anti-LGBTQ laws among other things.

Demonstrators hold up signs during a rally titled "day of action" protest against US President Donald Trump's policies and executive actions, in downtown Chicago, Illinois, on April 19, 2025. (AFP)

The protests were carried across major cities in the US, including New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, Boston and many others. People in republican states such as Texas also came out in opposition of Trump’s policies.

Anti-Trump protests across US | 10 points-

1. One of the key features of Saturday’s protests were placards decrying Donald Trump and his policies and flags in solidarity for Palestinian people and the queer community.
2. In New York, people marched through the New York Public Library and made their way to landmarks such as the Central Park and Trump tower. They raised slogans such as "No Kings in America" and "No ICE, no fear, immigrants are welcome here," to resist Trump’s deportations of immigrants in the US, said an AFP report.
3. A protester in New York, 73-year-old Kathy Valy, daughter of Holocaust survivors ,equated what was happening in the US to the Nazi rule in Germany. "The one thing is that Trump is a lot more stupid than Hitler or than the other fascists…He's being played... and his own team is divided," AFP quoted her as saying.
4. People rallied outside the White House as well with banners that read "Workers should have the power," "No kingship," "Stop arming Israel" and "Due process," reported Reuters. People also protested in support of Palestine in Washington while sporting keffiyeh scarves.
5. In Texas too, which is one of the key Republican states of the US, a small demonstration was carried out in Galveston city. Patsy Oliver, a 63-year-old writer and one of the protesters there, told AFP, "This is my fourth protest and typically I would sit back and wait for the next election…We cannot do that right now. We've lost too much already."
6. In San Francisco, people wrote “Impeach & Remove” on the sand at a beach. Some also held a US flag upside down, which is considered a symbol of distress.
7. A demonstration was also held in Massachusetts at the commemoration of “the shot heard ’round the world” on April 19, 1775. The event marks the starting of the Revolutionary War 250 years ago, reported AP.
8. People from all age groups and social backgrounds gathered together in several parts of the United States to express their dissent, ranging from students unhappy over the Trump administration trying to control academic freedom in educational institutions to veteran federal workers shocked by mass hirings in many federal departments.
9. One of the key organisers of the April 19 protests in the United States is a group called 50501. The name of the group represents - 50 protests in 50 states and one movement. According to the group, some 400 demonstrations were planned across the country.
10. This was the second time such demonstrations were held against Trump and his administration across the United States. Before this, similar protests were held on April 5 which also saw huge turnout.

With agency inputs.