Wet snow bent budded tree branches as around 100 demonstrators gathered outside Manitou Springs Memorial Hall on April 19 to once again protest the actions of the Trump administration. Slogans on signs expressed concern about a raft of issues including the defunding of federal agencies, tariffs, executive overreach and lack of due process for immigrants – in particular Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to a prison in El Salvador due to administrative error and who remains there despite a Supreme Court order for the Trump administration to facilitate his return.
The protests took place on the 250th anniversary of “the shot heard round the world” which started the American War for Independence, also known as the American Revolutionary War.
The April 19 event was the latest in a series of nationwide protests that have occurred since early February. Nationwide networks of affiliated groups such as 50501 (which stands for 50 protests in 50 states on one day) and Indivisible organized protests in cities all over the country, often joined by local groups dedicated to civil rights, veterans, labor interests, women and LGBTQ+ people.
I protest because I truly believe in our constitutional democracy. – Mark Lee
Margaret Rudin attended the Manitou Springs demonstration.
“What brought me out was the need to be with others who can see that we’re headed towards a place that’s not good for our country,” she said. “[It’s] an expression of the fear and the anger and the concern for where our country is headed.”
“I protest because I truly believe in our constitutional democracy and the right to self-governance,” said demonstrator Mark Lee [Lee is a freelance photographer who contributes to the Pikes Peak Bulletin]. “In our democracy, the rule of law and due process are morally and legally non-negotiable. They balance state power with the inherent and inalienable rights of the individual.”
To learn more about the national protest movement and related local events, go to FiftyFifty.One and IndivisibleColoradoSprings.org.
