Thousands of people across the country turned out on Monday, February 17 to demonstrate against the Trump/MAGA fascist regime. People marched and rallied in Washington, D.C., and other major cities from New York to Chicago and Los Angeles. And there were protests in state capitals—2,000 in Olympia, Washington… 1,000 in Boston in heavy snow… and others—as well as in numerous other cities large and small coast to coast. From 3,000 in Denver to a few hundred in Athens, Georgia, or Greenville, North Carolina, to 70 in a bitterly cold Detroit—people came out in many, many places, sometimes organizing themselves from postings on Reddit and other ways. The signs people carried—many hand-made—reflected a range of views, from directly calling out Trump and his regime as fascist to “Not my Presidents Day” to “Elon Musk has got to go”… and many others. The protests were called by 50501, Refuse Fascism!, and other groups, as well as a lot of ordinary people joining the protests or pulling together protests on their own. It’s important to emphasize these took place in dozens of cities, in all parts of the country, and involved a range of organizations. What we saw on this day revealed a real potential for the struggle against this fascist regime to go to another level. 

Often, the different demonstrations in a city merged into one, making these into even more powerful displays of unity and anger against the outrages being carried out by the regime. In Chicago, for example, in a day of extreme arctic freeze, 150 protestors at the Refuse Fascism rally grew to 300 as they marched to Trump Tower where they met up with the 50501 rally, forming a crowd 600-800 strong. A revcom.us correspondent wrote, “This was, for many, an uplifting and unexpected show of force for this many to come out in the bitter cold, and many commented of feeling empowered and feeling their potential strength. Most of the people who came were relatively new to political life, and very curious.” Noche Diaz, national spokesperson for the Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity, gave a powerful speech saying, “We say that this whole system that spawned Trump MAGA fascism is rotten and illegitimate, and we need and we demand a whole new way to live, and a fundamentally different system,” and calling on people to check out revolutionary leader Bob Avakian, “someone who stands totally outside of this system and tells the goddamn truth about it.” 

In New York City, a gathering of a thousand people at Union Square marched to Washington Square where Refuse Fascism was leading a rally. At one point, hundreds of people at the combined protest powerfully took up the chant led from the stage: “The Trump Fascist Regime Must Go!” Andy Zee, member of the Editorial Board of Refuse Fascism and spokesperson for Revolution Books, spoke sharply to the urgency of the situation: “The question has been posed, and I want your answer: ‘Could it happen here?’ Well it is happening here!... And it’s already pretty far along… If we don’t stop this NOW, the ability to hold rallies like this may be no more.”

In Oakland, California, the Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity led a protest in the Fruitvale district with the theme of “In the Name of Humanity, We Refuse to Accept a Fascist America”—including a reading of a statement from an immigrant who had been deported (read by his daughter) saying, in part, “We must pull together as one! All Humanity against Trump, against the fascism and against the Hatred that seeks to tear us apart!” This protest then joined a protest of thousands led by Indivisible at Lake Merritt, and hundreds took to the streets. 

In Los Angeles, Refuse Fascism led a rally of 500 people at City Hall that was part of the day of 50501 protests. A revcom.us correspondent reported that the rally included a range of speakers, from a new member of Refuse Fascism who recounted how “she had such pride at being a German American until she was 12 and learned of the Holocaust and then highlighted all the parallels to today”… a farmworker from the Central Valley who “said  that we cannot be fighting these battles one by one and be divided – we have to be uniting to defeat fascism”… a student from East LA College who “laid out the fears of the youth for the future as a whole and the vicious assault against education and called on her professors to stand with them as they walk out and rise up”… Reverend Oliver Buie who emphasized the importance of unity in the struggle against Trump… and Sunsara Taylor, an initiator of Refuse Fascism and co-host of The RNL—Revolution, Nothing Less!—Show.

In Houston, 600 people rallied as part of the “Not My Presidents” day protests—according to a revcom.us correspondent, the crowd included “significant numbers of scientists, medical researchers, healthcare workers, and teachers.” The revcoms got out word about revolutionary leader Bob Avakian, and at one point led the crowd in chanting, “Fascists Say America First, We Say Humanity First."

Go to the social media feeds of Refuse Fascism and of the Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity for videos of the actions.

Be sure to watch this week’s episode of The RNL—Revolution, Nothing Less!—Show, 5pm PT | 7pm CT | 8pm ET, which will cover this day of protest. 

For more on Refuse Fascism:
RefuseFascism.org

For more on THE REVCOM CORPS For The Emancipation Of Humanity:
@TheRevcoms

Below are a few of the initial reports on sights and sounds for (Not Our) Presidents Day and Refuse Fascism protests.