FEB 20, 2025 | NEWS | By Tessa Frantz
On Monday, Feb. 17, Colorado Springs citizens marched from City Hall to the El Paso County Sheriff’s office in protest of recent actions from the Trump Administration. A crowd of between 400 and 500 people from all walks of life attended the march.
Bundled in warm hats and scarves, residents marched the 0.7 miles between City Hall and the Sheriff’s office, chanting objections and carrying signs with phrases like “resist fascism” and “fight back against Trump!”
The protest was organized by the Colorado Springs People’s Coalition and other groups, including the Immigrants Rights Coalition, Southern Colorado Black & Pink, Colorado Resistance Network and Colorado Indigenous Brown Berets.
The protest in Colorado Springs occurred per a national effort to denounce President Trump and Elon Musk, the head of Trump’s newly established Department of Government Efficiency, an agency created to reduce federal spending. In cities in all 50 states, including Austin, Texas, Sacramento, Calif., Boston, Mass., and many more, citizens protested unconstitutional executive actions. The group mainly organized the nationwide protests, 50501, dedicated to upholding the Constitution and ending executive overreach.
“The protest was about uniting as many organizations and people as we can against Donald Trump and his racist reactionary agenda,” Brandon Rincon, the chair and founder of the Colorado Springs People’s Coalition, said.
Rincon said that the rally was put on to bring various groups together to speak out against what they say are unconstitutional changes put forward by President Trump.
Rincon asserts that while the protest surrounded the specific topics of immigration, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and human rights, they spoke out against Trump’s administration.
“We were protesting pretty much the whole damn thing,” Rincon said.
“It’s important that we stand with people all across the United States,” Rincon said. “We’re not just going to take these attacks on people and not do anything about it. We’re going to fight back and make it known that we’re going to stand up.”
Colorado College professors and students attended the protest, which began at 1 p.m. Psychology professor Tricia Waters felt a great need to act and join the protest.
“The reason I went is I don’t want to look back when I’m 90 and I have grandchildren, or even great-grandchildren, ask me what I did. What was I doing when our democracy fell? I want to be able to say I did everything I possibly could,” Walters said.
Waters brought up several social services she supports including Head Start, a program which helps support underprivileged children and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program, which provides food to low-income families and has recently come under scrutiny from the Trump administration.
“We chant things like ‘this is what a democracy looks like,” she said. “If we had a functioning democracy, we wouldn’t have to be out there on the streets like this, protesting these irregular and unconstitutional behaviors.”
Though she attended the protest for personal reasons, Waters said that she also has an obligation as a professor to encourage critical thinking, expanding on her role as an educator to make sure that everyone is “paying attention.”
Caroline Cullinane ‘27 learned of the protest through social media and attended with friends.
“I’ve just been feeling very overwhelmed and upset about everything that’s happening politically in America,” she said. “I think it’s important to show our governments, cities and country that we care and we’re not just going to let whoever is in charge push us around.”
Specifically, Cullinane is impassioned by the emergence of an oligarchy in the US government.
“There’s been a lot of discussion and examination about America transitioning to an oligarchy where the richest, most powerful group of leaders in America are the ones in charge and the people don’t have a say,” she said.
Inspired by the protest, Cullinane plans to speak out against unconstitutional actions. She hopes to start a new chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America at Colorado College.
Sophomore Nico Martinez attended the protest and felt called to march with the protest, partially because he is a college student. He maintains that students are essential in the fight against injustice.
“If you look at the course of history, college campuses and young people have been at the center of all the civil movements in American history,” said Martinez. “For me it’s really important to continue that legacy of critical analysis of the society we live in and really work towards creating community.”
The Colorado Springs People’s Coalition so far has no protests scheduled for the near future but maintains that they will continue to fight against the Trump administration and any abuse of executive power.