LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) — Upward of a thousand people rallied outside of the Michigan state Capitol Wednesday afternoon. They chanted in opposition to actions taken by President Donald Trump.
The event is part of a 50-state protest against the Trump administration.
Chopper video shows crowd protesting Trump administration at Michigan Capitol:
Sam Nelson, one of the organizers, said he saw a post on Reddit and ran with it.
"Yeah, this came from one comment online, inspired a whole lot of us to get involved. I’ve just been focusing on making sure it goes safe and sends the right message over the last two days," he explained.
The crowd was made up of people concerned about the Trump administration's policies and executive actions either enforced or considered since he took office.
“We don’t want tariffs. I mean, farmers, we don’t want handouts from the government. We want open and free markets. This guy is trying to shut down those markets. We’re still recovering form the last time that he imposed those tariffs,” Dennis Kellogg, a soybean farmer, told 7 News Detroit.
The issues each protester leans toward varies greatly.
“He’s attacked the poor. He’s attacked the immigrants. He’s attacked the marginalized communities in this country,” activist Willye Bryan said.
For a differing viewpoint, 7 News Detroit reached out to the Michigan House Republicans.
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Republican state Rep. Joe Aragona said, “These people are out of touch.”
“Donald Trump won for a reason. He won overwhelmingly in the electoral college, won the popular vote handily and I’m seeing signs out here to allow for illegal immigration. I’m seeing signs for... a lot of people out here apparently hate Elon Musk," he said. "The guy’s working basically for free to try and clean up the federal budget, which everybody knows there is a lot of waste."
A gentleman named Koi, who didn't want to give his last name, said he’s an independent. While he showed up with a sign that read “Support Trump," Koi said he doesn’t agree with all of the president’s policies.
“This (gathering) is very also intimidating, but this is what America stands for is the freedom of assembly. This needs to be allowed but in this country, we need to have some serious dialogue I believe," Koi said.
Democratic state Rep. Carrie Rheingans said those who are concerned ought to take further action by reaching out to their congressional leaders and get involved.
She said, "Another action people can take is find some organization locally that is working on an issue that you care a lot about. Do you care about immigration? The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center needs some support for their legal defense, the ACLU of Michigan needs some support to protect our rights, our constitutional rights."
