50501 (short for "50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement", originally an abbreviation of "50 protests, 50 states, one day") is a grassroots political organization founded to protest the policies and actions of the second Donald Trump administration in the United States.[3][4] The group organized a nationwide demonstration on February 5, 2025,[5][6] another nationwide "No Kings on Presidents Day" demonstration on February 17 (Presidents' Day),[7] and a third demonstration on March 4, 2025.[8][9] Thousands of people participated by gathering outside state capitol buildings and city halls during these protests.[10][7]
Discussions of a nationwide protest started circulating on social media in late 2024. According to organizer Kay Evert, the movement started on Reddit, with activist organizations eventually joining in.[11] The movement claims it was organized by grassroots activists and spread through social media.[12] The movement used the hashtags "#buildtheresistance" and "#50501", with the latter standing for "50 protests, 50 states, one day".[13] Protestors also expressed dismay about the role of Elon Musk and his actions in the federal system.[14] One protester stated "I'm here because Elon Musk is where he's not supposed to be. He is in our pocketbooks," as well as concerns about accessing confidential and personal data, lack of legal jurisdiction, and the unelected status of Musk.[14]
Signage included commentary about Musk[15] and a spokesperson for the group emphasized that Musk is a target of the protest, stating "We are still very much calling for the removal of Elon Musk. We find it very concerning that there is a non-government official that has the access that he does," as well as the desire for stronger anti-discrimination policies.[1]
50501 protest at the Ohio Statehouse in February 2025
The idea for 50501 started as a Reddit post by user Evolved_Fungi in late January, quickly gaining traction on social media. 50501's first protest occurred on February 5, 2025.[1] The organization claimed there to be 72,000 protesters at 67 protests across 40 states.[11] 50501's second protest happened on February 17, being called “Not my Presidents Day”.[7] In early February, they officially partnered with Political Revolution,[16] a group initially created to support Bernie Sanders' 2016 political bid[17] (notOur Revolution, the political action organization founded as a continuation of Senator Bernie Sanders's 2016 presidential campaign[18]). Political Revolution put up a live list[19][20] and map of protests hosted by the 50501 movement shortly afterwards.[citation needed] K Starling, of We (the People) Dissent collected[21] protests from four sites onto one list[22] and an interactive map, for 22-28 March 2025 and 5 April 2025.[23]
The Hands Off protests on April 5 were hosted in numerous state capitals, major cities, and towns across the US.[8][9] The movement plans on hosting another rally in Washington, D.C. and other locations on April 19 with the support of the Womens March, a feminist organization that organized the third largest protest in American History in 2017.
Reactions by Republican officials
When asked about the protest, Stuart Adams (president of the Utah State Senate) said, "I think people are a little frustrated, but I also think President Trump's moving forward, and it's not going to be business as usual. And I think some of it's actually refreshing that we've got a president who will hit issues head on, deal with them and try to try to get things changed.... I think we need to give him some time to see the results of his action. I think to actually criticize something before the policies actually have a chance to have the effect that they’re trying to achieve, I think is probably premature.".[24]
South Carolina governor Henry McMaster commented: “I don’t know what happened in other states, but I mean they were protesting, they were well-behaved. That’s how you do it”.[25]
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