Orange County residents gathered at Irvine City Hall in a “March 4 America” protest against President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk on the evening of March 4.
50501 Movement Orange County (50501OC) and Indivisible CA 40 organized the event ahead of Trump’s first Joint Session of Congress speech in his second term. The 50501 Movement is a nationwide non-violence and conflict resolution grassroots movement, with events organized by volunteers.
Indivisible CA 40 is a “pro-democracy, anti-fascism” organization that tracks the legislative actions of Republican U.S. Rep. Young Kim, who represents California’s 40th District. Amy Stevens, an Indivisible CA 40 representative, attended the protest.
“We are a local group through the national Indivisible organization, and we are working in the Congressional District 40 in Orange County,” Stevens told New University. “I would say that Indivisible’s primary goal is to fight back against Trump and his policies, stop the Trump-Elon Musk coup and hold our officials accountable.”
50501OC described goals of “the end of DOGE, the reversal of Trump’s policies and the protection of the Constitution.”
“[50501OC] is a decentralized group that over the past few months really just since the end of January has come together to be bipartisan to defend the Constitution, so whether you’re on the right, the left, the center, the really doesn’t matter to us so much as a real passion for defending the Constitution from the abuses of the current administration. So this current group is super grassroots, but we have connections with similar groups that are California and nationwide,” 50501OC Representative Daniel, who chose to only identify himself by his first name, told New University.
Trump established DOGE on Inauguration Day and named Elon Musk its head following Musk’s support of Trump during the 2024 campaign season. The new agency has sought to reduce federal funding for government agencies and implement workforce reductions with cost-cutting mandates.
Protesters held signs with different messages and chanted “Hey Hey, Hey Ho, Donald Trump has got to go.” Groups of protestors holding signs took turns crossing the street and encouraged passing cars to honk after speakers presented to those in attendance.
Guest speakers spoke on behalf of their respective communities, such as Kanan Durham, who is the executive director of Pride at the Pier. Durham attended the protest to voice grievances with the federal and local governments.
“We are here to speak against the rise in anti-LGBTQ extremism that we’ve seen in our federal government and our local government, along with all of the other attacks on marginalized people across America,” Durham told New University.
Betty Martinez Franco, who is currently running for the Irvine City Council District 5 special election, and South Orange Community College District Vice President Ryan Dack were also in attendance.
“I’ve dedicated my career to ensuring that higher education remains affordable, accessible and a pathway to opportunity for everyone who seeks it … But today I stand here because not every opportunity, the future of millions of students across the country is under attack,” Dack said during his speech.
50501OC currently protests at the Irvine City Hall from 2 to 4 p.m. every Sunday. Those interested in learning more can visit 50501OC and Indivisible CA 40’s websites.
Felipe Juarez Molina is a News Staff Writer. He can be reached at juarezmf@uci.edu.
Editor’s Note:
This article was updated to correct the spelling of “super grassroots” in a quote from Daniel of 50501OC.
