‘I’m here because I’m angry.’ Hundreds protest Trump & Elon Musk at California Capitol
Hundreds turned out at noon Wednesday at the California state Capitol to protest President Donald Trump and Elon Musk — Trump’s adviser, mega MAGA donor, “special employee” and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or “DOGE,” set up to root out wasteful spending.
Protesters carried flags representing Mexico, America, the trans community and greater LGBTQ community, but the protest was decidedly pointed toward Musk, who, in the last week, has attempted a full-scale takeover of the American government, shuttering its agencies, threatening to lay off government workers, and accessing government data without approval from Congress.
DOGE is an unofficial department launched by Trump but is not a real federal department, as it has not been approved by an Act of Congress or constitutional amendment.
Sacramentans joined thousands across the country to protest Musk as part of the 50501 Movement — or, 50 protests in 50 states on one day.
“BOYCOTT TESLA,” protesters chanted by the hundreds.
“It’s our democracy,” said Denise Monette, 70, who drove down from Marysville to protest with a sign that said, “DEPORT ELON.” “I’m on Social Security. This is serious.”
Monette’s biggest fear with a Musk takeover is that “we’ll turn into a kleptocracy,” she said.
Erica Cefalo and Billy Larkin drove to the Capitol from Woodland. Cefalo held a sign that read, “IMPEACH PRESIDENT MUSK.”
Cefalo and Larkin said they are horrified by the cuts and spending freezes the Trump Administration — guided by Musk — have made to research, particularly to the National Institute of Health; Larkin has Stage IV prostate cancer, and the lifesaving drugs he currently takes are a direct result from that research.
“You can’t afford for a day to go by without that research,” Larkin said. “I got really mad when I saw (those cuts),” he said. “I was like, ‘That’s me. That affects me.’”
While the turnout was a far cry from the Sacramento Women’s March in 2017, which drew close to 20,000 people on the eve of Trump’s first inauguration, it was impressive nonetheless given the quick notice for a weekday afternoon protest.
“I’m here because I’m angry,” said Eileen Hernandez, from Fair Oaks, who was at the Capitol protesting with her niece and nephew.
Hernandez is a first-generation Mexican-American, and her niece held a sign that said, “IMMIGRATION BUILT THIS NATION.”
“My family came here, and did a lot of great things, and (Trump and Musk) are just saying terrible things about people,” she said.
“I’m worried about the way (they) are giving hate and racism a voice and loudspeaker. He’s given everyone power to be as racist and mean and angry and hurtful as possible.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 2:50 PM.
