For anyone who is a fan of human rights like me, there hasn’t been much to be happy about since our new president was sworn into office.

From every dark-skinned person being terrified that ICE will round them up for detention (no matter their legal status), to members of the LGBTQ+ community living in constant fear of receiving physical violence from followers of the current regime, the national atmosphere has become one that’s brimming with anxiety.

I think this is why the chants of “Fuck Donald Trump” I could hear from blocks away as I approached the state capitol for the 50501 Protest in Denver brought me some kind of politically based joy for the first time since January 20th. This feeling was only enhanced when I arrived at the steps of the capital to find a sea of diversity.

Thousands of people were gathered at the foot of the State Capitol building with every nationality and color of the gender spectrum present—each brandishing a different flag of representation. Though the most prevalent flag found at the protest was from Mexico, there was also a bounty of rainbow flags with the Colorado “C” in the center, along with one or two Antifa flags hanging around for good measure.

Also, hundreds of signs could be seen throughout the crowd. “The Holocaust Started With Mass Deportations,” “Protect Trans Rights,” and “Silence Is Compliance” were found. However, the one that stood out most to me read “You’re On Native Land” and was being held up by a group of Native Americans; given how many of these citizens have been illegally rounded up in Trump’s racist dragnet, I was glad to see some form of representation for this marginalized group at the demonstration.

For the first couple of hours before the march, various speakers filled the air with their stories of how the actions of Donald Trump and his administration had made their lives a nightmare.

A number of Hispanic teenagers spoke about how they were a part of the protest because their parents couldn’t attend out of fear they would be picked up by ICE. One speaker—a teacher whose wife was from South America—recounted how their day-to-day lives had been permeated with apprehension over her possibly being stopped due to her legal status (even though she was as American as apple pie). Everyone who was in attendance had been negatively impacted by the actions of Donald Trump … including myself and the investigation into the mistreatment of our veterans.

About a month ago, I broke the story that the Aurora VA hospital had been serving expired/unsafe foods to veterans and their caregivers for years (with one person being hospitalized in August 2024), and because of this, they were under federal investigation by the VA Inspector General. Sadly, this IG was one of those who had been fired by Trump in late January, effectively killing the investigation.

Like everyone else at the event, I was pissed and wanted to add to the rage choir (you know, while we still have something resembling the First Amendment right to protest). And at around 3 o’clock, the crowd gathered and began the multi-mile march.

For most of the march, the police had barricaded off certain intersections and portions of various roads in the downtown area. Though traffic was at a standstill in these locations, many people were gladly waiting along the roadside to honk their horns and show support. In another sign of solidarity, other drivers would roll down their windows and join in the chants of “No justice, no peace; know justice, know peace,” and the aforementioned “Fuck Donald Trump.” In fact, love and positive outpouring were all we would experience … up until my section was almost mowed down by a Trump supporter.

With the intersection of Kalamath and 14th Avenue having been clearly blocked off for hours by law enforcement, a Trumpster driving a massive truck transporting construction equipment saw this lack of automobile traffic as an opportunity to weaponize his vehicle by barreling it through the intersection, nearly hitting four people.

Though I was happy that nobody got hurt, my relief instantly turned into nausea when I heard one of the protestors say, “Even if somebody would have gotten hit, the driver would have been pardoned.” In this new America, it depresses me to think he’s right.

Eventually, we made our way to a barricade that had been set up by the National Guard to keep the protestors at bay. As soon as we realized we’d reached the end of the road, the people at the front of the line began chanting “Our voice, our streets” at the top of their lungs to the guardsmen. After a few minutes of this, a member of the military began telling the crowd to go back and disperse.

When it became apparent these commands were falling on deaf ears, the SWAT team was called out.

With emotions becoming heightened and a sense that something could pop off, the collective took the “fuck this” approach and started to march down unblocked side streets; it was glorious.

Weaving in and out of cars that had been ground to a standstill, the march had distilled itself into the essence of what a great protest should be: complete disruption. The police didn’t know what to do as the numbers were clearly not in their favor, so they just let it happen. Multiple downtown blocks had become completely impassable due to the wave of civil disobedience that was crashing all around.

After an hour or so, we made our way back to the capitol building where the rest of the event was spent with more speakers airing their many grievances

Right now, our nation is being transformed into something mutant, something terrible. The value of our fellow humans is being reduced to nothing more than skin color and what genitals you possess (and based on what those might be, you could lose your rights, maybe even your freedom). I’m hoping that the 50501 protests are only the beginning because we’ve got a hell of a lot of work to do.

It’s like Hunter S. Thompson said, “Freedom is something that dies unless it’s used.”