Hundreds of people gathered Wednesday at the Capitol to protest the Trump administration and Project 2025, a conservative plan to enact sweeping change within the federal government.
“Being around people who still believe that immigrants are great, and that we can gather and we’re not gonna get rounded up and arrested for being here is nice,” Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, an Austin-based immigration attorney, said. “Do I feel confident that it’s gonna be like that at the end of this term? Not really.”
Thomas Gomez had pulled his children, aged 7 and 9, out of school to attend. He set up a blanket with water, snacks, paper and markers – "all the essentials.”
"I think they need to see this. It's important for them to understand what's really important in life,” he said. “Education is important, but I feel like this will teach them a lot more than what they would be learning in school today."
The protest was part of a nationwide demonstration at all 50 state capitol buildings, known as the 50501 Movement (50 states, 50 protests, 1 day).
Protesters marched across the grounds, chanting "Dump Elon, dump Trump" and holding signs with phrases like "Immigrants make America great" and "Dissent is patriotic." Many carried American flags and pride flags. They then marched down Congress Avenue.
The Reddit-fueled campaign aims to denounce Project 2025. Though President Trump has denied any involvement with the plan, his executive actions in his first two weeks in office have mirrored it — including his suggestion of dissolving FEMA, punishing countries that refuse to repatriate undocumented migrants, encouraging government employees to resign and suspending foreign aid altogether.
Organizer Mariah Guerrero, who traveled over two hours to get to the Capitol, slammed Trump for “taking apart” the government. She said one of the movement's goals was to have all his executive orders infringing on human rights overturned or rescinded.
Both the Texas House and Senate were in session during the protest. Democratic state Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, heard demonstrators from his office and popped outside. Wu, who consistently rails against GOP policies online, said Trump’s executive actions were proof that the country is “being dismantled piece by piece in front of our eyes.”
Wu said he hopes the demonstration inspires people to “get out there and do something.”
“The greatest enemy of democracy in this country is not Donald Trump. It’s apathy,” he said. “It’s this idea that everything will be fine even if I don’t do anything."
Law enforcement presence was minimal at the start of the protest, but gradually grew to include officers on bikes and horses.
In a statement, the Texas Department of Public Safety said it was "continuously monitoring events and their impact on public safety," but that it would not discuss "operational specifics."
"DPS will continue to adjust our operations as needed to maintain public order and address potential threats," the statement read. "The department remains committed to proactively protecting the people and property of Texas."
