Hundreds in Seattle march against Trump, in support of workers

Claire Bryan, The Seattle Times on Sep 2, 2025

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SEATTLE — Carrying signs with slogans like “No Kings” and “Human need, not greed,” hundreds of people gathered outside Seattle Central College on Labor Day to march in protest of President Donald Trump’s policies that they argue have hurt working people.

While the march and rally were titled “Workers Over Billionaires” it was one of a string of protests put on by a grassroots movement called 50501 — which stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement — opposing myriad actions by the federal government, from Medicaid cuts to the U.S. role in Gaza to immigrant deportations. Several other workers’ rights Labor Day protests were also scheduled around the Seattle area.

At Seattle Central College on Monday, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown took to the microphone while cars driving by on Broadway honked in support.

“Now more than ever we are fighting for the people of our state and our country because we don’t have a federal government that is acting in your interest,” Brown told the crowd of between 200 and 300 people.

Brown and his office have filed 37 lawsuits against the Trump administration fighting for civil rights, health care and the safety, identity and integrity of people who are transgender, and to protect money that was guaranteed to the state of Washington, Brown said.

“It saddens me that so much of my job and the job of our staff is protecting Americans from their president,” Brown said.

He encouraged the crowd to also pay attention to city councils, county elections and state representatives in Olympia, and make sure more local politicians are fighting for Washingtonians’ rights.

Holding signs that read “Make good trouble,” “Worst president ever” and “No one who stole this land has the right to say who belongs here,” among many others, the crowd took to Broadway walking north toward the Mexican consulate on Roy Street.

Cars stopped in the middle of the street and waited for the marchers to pass. Pedestrians walking down Broadway stopped to record video of the march on their phones. Some joined in the chants.

Shamik Raje and McKenna Hollinger, both 25-year-old Seattle residents who moved here a little over a year ago, said they marched because they feel like the president is being blatantly authoritarian and they want to show they stand against his actions.

They worry that people get “used to the craziness” and just say “it is just Trump being crazy,” Raje said. “But all of these things are breaking so many norms and going against so many foundational aspects of the country.”

Both Raje and Hollinger are from red states, Ohio and Oklahoma respectively, so feel some of Trump’s actions more extremely.

“(Cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and medical research) all impact people in those states more than here, likely. It is really hard to see that,” Hollinger said.

Raje and Hollinger were on the younger side of Monday’s crowd and they noticed it.

“I know a lot of people didn’t vote because they didn’t think these things affected them but the reality is they just haven’t noticed it yet,” Hollinger said. “We want to try to get other people in our age demographic involved as well.”

Another attendee, Kristina Tarczy-Hornoch, has been protesting since February when she first heard about 50501. She said she protests almost every Saturday when she is not traveling.

“I think that the direction the country is heading in is completely terrifying and I’m afraid that a lot of people don’t recognize this or believe that it will sort itself out,” Tarczy-Hornoch said. “I don’t think that just because it is not impacting me personally that it is OK to just stand by and watch it happen.”

She noted that early on the movement was criticized as having too many components to it and not focusing on a narrow issue. “But the fact is that all of the things we are opposed to are all acting in concert and that’s never been as obvious before as it is now,” she said.

“I feel helpless and it is one of the only things I feel like I can do,” she added.

Cynthia Whetsell, one of the organizers of the 50501 protest, stressed the need for more participation in events like Monday’s.

“The majority of people don’t like what is going on but there’s not enough of us out here yet,” Whetsell said.

The march brought mixed feelings for some of the participants interviewed by The Seattle Times. It reminded them of the politics they were angry about. But it also made them feel optimistic that they stand in solidarity with others fighting for a common cause, they said.

“When people come together and stand together for each other and show that we are not the country that we are seeing in Washington, D.C., it is in fact contagious,” Brown said as he ended his speech. “We will survive Donald Trump.”