More than 200 people gathered in front of San Antonio City Hall on Tuesday afternoon to protest the Trump administration’s ongoing dismantling of the federal government and its decision to cut off aid to Ukraine.
The demonstration was one many scheduled for the same day by the grassroots 50501 Movement. The group planned protests in all 50 states to decry the erosion of democratic principles and civil liberties under Trump.
Carrying signs that said “Resist MAGA fascism” and “Putin wins with Trump,” the crowd chanted and cheered as Don Edge, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3511, railed against billionaire Elon Musk’s unchecked influence over the White House.
Edge accused Trump and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, of cruelly sacking government workers, including those at San Antonio’s Veterans Administration facilities, so they can line their own pockets without oversight or scrutiny.
“We need to let them know we’re not going to take it,” Edge told the crowd to rousing applause.
Edge urged demonstrators not to give up or let those in power stop them from taking their concerns to the streets.
“We’re in for the fight of our lives,” he said. “And guess what? We’re up for it.”
