34 Comments
User's avatar
Larry McGinnity's avatar

We the People at Work

The People, the protectors of Democracy, are out and about. What "people," out where, about what--and why? First, millions said "Hand Off"to Trump/Musk et al, then on the 19th via 50501" (50 protests, 5o states, 1 Movement) millions more protested the mess in WDC. Also on the 19th we celebrated the "the shot heard around the world at Lexington and Concord, starting the Revolution and our country. On the 22nd protectors of the environment cleaned up a different kind of mess on Earth Day.

As important as the participants in environmental mess cleanup and American history are, this post is dedicated to the named and unnamed protestors fighting the Trump/Musk Washington, DC, tyrannical mess. Or as Susan Grymes calls it: "Protectors" of democracy, and so shall I in this post.

Who are the Protectors of democracy on April 5, 19th, May 1st--or all the everydays in between and into the future?? We will never know the names of each individual marcher, sign holder (or just standing together in solidarity). But we do know by name some people, advocacy groups, judges and law firms, and other entities who have not been cowed, and have fought back publicly--sometimes under threat of death.. Some, such as Sen. Cory Booker, with his 25 hour righteous speech on ethics, morality, and American democracy,have become an inspiration. Here then, in no particular order of noteworthy (except the first three), are the names of many of the army of protectors of democracy--and remember Courage is Contagious:

(Of course, the list is imperfect, Additions are welcomed. Also re-posting is permitted and encouraged.

PROTECTORS OF DEMOCRACY (By pen, voice, sign, or act)

(Updated April 25, 2025 Individuals

Heather Cox Richardson/"Letters from an American,"

Jess Piper/"View from Rural Missouri,"

Joyce Vance/"Civil Discourse,"

Rep. AOC,

AGs, 23 Blue States,

Aaron Parnas,

Adam Kinzinger,

Sen. Adam Schiff,

Adam Smith,

Alex Wagner,

Alexander Vindman,

Ali Velshi,

Alison Gill

Alvin Bragg (and the unnamed Manhattan jurors),

Amb. Susan Rice,

Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales/Democracy Now,

Anand Giridharadas,

Anat Shenker-Osario,

Andrew Weissmann,

Andy Borowitz,

Ann Telnaes,

Anne Applebaum,

Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF (Freedom from Religion Foundation),

Ari Melber,

August Flentje,

Ben Meiselas,

Beth Benike,

Brett Meiselas,

Brian Tyler Cohen,

Cassidy Hutchinson,

Charlotte Clymer,

Chris Hayes,

Chris Krebs,

Col. Susannah Meyers,

Congressman Jim Himes,

D. Earl Stevens,

Dan Barker, FFRF (Freedom from Religion Foundation)

Dan Pfeiffer,

Dan Rather,

Daniel Berulis,

Daniel Morton-Bentley,

David Hogg,

Dean Obeidallah,

Delia Ramirez,

Sen. Elizabeth Warren,

Sen. Elyssa Slotkin,

Erez Reuveni,

Rep. Eric Swalwell,

Francie Garber Pepper (1940-2025),

Garrison Keillor,

Garry Kasparov,

George Conway,

Glenn Kirschner,

Gov. Beshear,

Gov. Janet Mills,

Gov. Kathy Hochul,

Gov. Maura Healey (MA),

Gov. Tim Walz (MN),

Gov. Tony Evers (WI),

Greg Olear,

Harry Litman,

J.B. Pritzker,

Jake Auchincloss,

Rep. Jamie Raskin,

Rep. Jasmine Crockett,

Jay Kou,

Jeff Danziger,

Sen. Jeff Merkley,

Jeff Stein,

Jeff Tiedrich,

Jen Rubin And the Contrarians,

,Jeremy Seahill,

Jessica Craven,

Jessica Yellin,

Jim Acosta,

Jim Hightower,

Jimmy Kimmel,

J-L Cauvin,

John Cusack,

John Larson

Sen. Jon Ossoff,

Jonathan Bernstein,

Jordy Meiselas,

Josh Johnson (stand-up comedian),

Josh Marshall/TPM,

Joy Reid,

Judd Legum (Popular Information),

Julie Roginsky,

Katie Phang,

Ken Harbaugh,

Lawrence O'Donnell,

Liz Cheney,

Lucian Truscott IV,

Marianne Williamson,

Mark Fiore,

Marvin Kalb,

Mary L. Trump,

Maxwell Frost,

Mayor Michelle Wu,

Mehdi Hasan,

Melvin Gurai,

Michael Bennett,

Michael Cohn,

Michel Zeitgeist,

Miles Taylor,

Nicolle Wallllace,

Noel Casler (former and current staff of the Inter-American Foundation, a small but mighty federal agency for Latin America)

Olga Lautman,

Oliva Troye,

Paul Krugman,

Prof. Lawrence Tribe,

Qasim Rachid,

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman,

Rachel Cohen,

Rachel Maddow,

Rebecca Solnit,

Rep. Andrew Egger,

Rep. Emily Randall,

Rep. Jessica Denson,

Rep. Jonathan V. Last,

Rep. Noe Casler,

Rep. Pramila Jayapal,

Rep. Sarah Longwell,

Rep. Al Green,

Rep. Don Beyer,

Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde,

Rev. William J. Barber II,

Rez Reuveni (acting deputy director for the Office of Immigration Litigation, and his supervisor),

Rich Wilson,

Robert B. Hubbell,

Robert Reich,

Roger Parloff,

Ron Filipkowski,

Ruth Ben-Ghait,

Sarah Inama,

Scott Dworkin,

Sen. Amy Klobuchar,

Sen. Andy Kim,

Sen. Angus King,

Sen. Bernie Sanders,

Sen. Chris Murphy,

Sen. Chris Van Hollen,

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand,

Sen. Lisa Murkowski,

Sen. Maria Cantwell,

Sen. Patty Murray,

Sen. Ron Wyden,

Sharon McMahon,

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse,

Simon Rosenberg,

Stacey Abrams,

Stephanie Miller,

Stephen King,

Steve Brodner,

Steve Schmidt,

Sue Nethercott,

Sen. Tammy Duckworth,

Tennessee Brandon,

Thom Hartmann,

Tim Snyder,

Timothy Snyder

Tristan Snell,

Will Bunch,

Zev Shalev,

ADVOCACY GROUPS, MEDIA NETWORKS

ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union),

AICN (North Carolina),

American Oversight,

Bill Kristol/all NeverTrumpers,

Blue Future,

Blue Missouri,

Blue Wave,

Bluesky,

Bulwark Media,

CODEPINK,

CREW,

DemCast,

Democracy Forward,

Democracy Index,

DemocracyLabs,

Every State Blue,

Feathers of Hope,

Field Team 6 (North Carolina),

FiftyFifty one (50501),

Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF),

Fred Wellman/On Democracy,

"Hands Off,"

Indivisible,

Jessica Valenti/Abortion Everyday,

Lambda Legal,

League of Women Voters,

Marc Elias/Democracy Docket,

MeidasTouch Network,

MoveOn,

MSNBC (an exception to corporate news, and their suppressing news0,

No Kings,

Olivia Troye,

Protect Democracy,

Public Citizen/Co-president Robert Weissman,

Run for Something,

Seneca Project,

Substack,

Team Sunrise,

The 19th/Errin Haines,

The American Manifesto,

The Bulwark,

The Civic Center,

The Dean's List/ Dean Obeidallah,

The Dr. Martin Luther King Center

The Lincoln Project,

The Politics Girl,

The States Project (North Carolina),

The Union (North Carolina)

Third Act,,

Thomas Zimmer/Democracy Americana,

We the People Dissent,

Working Families Party,

LAW FIRMS/ORGANIZATIONS, LAWYERS, COURTS, ACADEMIA

American Bar Association,

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer,

Big Ten Universities,

Brenna Trout Frey

David Pepper,

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (representing the Amica Center for Immigrants Rights and others seeking to block funding cuts for immigrant legal services),

Harvard/President Alan M. Garber,

Hogan Lovells (seeking to block executive orders to end federal funding for gender-affirming medical care),

Jenner & Block (also seeking to block the orders on cuts to medical research funding),

Judge Hannah Dugan,

Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III,

(former) Judge J. Michael Luttig,

Judge James Boasberg,

Judge Paula Xinis,

Judge Royce Lamberth,

Justice Elena Kagan,

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson,

Justices Sonia Sotomayer,

Northwestern University,

Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling (have resisted Trump, fighting back with the help of other courageous firms like Williams& Connolly),

Presidents of 328 U.S. colleges and universities who have signed a letter condemning “government overreach" (including St. Louis University),

Ropes & Gray (seeking to block cuts to medical research funding), Susman Godfrey law firm,

UC Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky,

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr (per the ABA Journal, representing fired inspectors general),

Wilmer Hale Keker, Van Nest & Peters,

Southern Poverty Law Center,

Letter signed by 500 law firms joined a court brief supporting Perkins Coie lawsuit against the Trump Administration),

To paraphrase Churchill: We shall fight them in the streets, we shall fight them on the sidewalks, we shall fight them on the internet, we shall fight them in the courts, we shall fight them in the Congress, we shall fight them in the voting booth--We shall never surrender. YOU ARE NEVER ALONE. SOLIDARITY..

Expand full comment
R Albro's avatar

The link on a protest in Bellingham WA for May 1st is incorrect. It should be lawdayofaction.org not .com.

Expand full comment
Diana's avatar

Thx for doing the hard work to organize and keep us inform! Resistance is strong 🤩✊

Expand full comment
Joette Giovinco's avatar

When I tried to open the link I got an error message and my email flashed on the screen. I’m not sure what is happening but please check your link.

Expand full comment
K. Starling's avatar

It should be working. Try copying the link and opening it in a browser.

Expand full comment
Sue's avatar

Do we have a total of protesters from 4/19

Expand full comment
Dakota Nyght's avatar

There is apparently a May 1 protest in Missoula that doesn't show up on either of these maps: https://actionnetwork.org/events/may-day-in-missoula Thank you again for compiling this list!

Expand full comment
K. Starling's avatar

Got it.

Expand full comment
Maureen Smith's avatar

Same for Nashua NH. Can’t all the protest locations be listed on ONE WEBSITE???????

Expand full comment
Dakota Nyght's avatar

Since everything is decentralized (which is honestly so, so good that it is), I think folks just aren't always aware of which options are available and default to the social media/websites they're most comfortable with. And I could be wrong, but I think Indivisible groups (and likely others) tend to post only to their own website (and then it is shared out from there). Frustrating for sure (esp for us Type A folks ;) )—but I am so grateful to K. Starling and their group for doing all of this compiling!

Expand full comment
Michelle G's avatar

Yes! Peaceful protectors of our Democracy! ✊🇺🇸✊

Expand full comment
Marye Brown's avatar

For those who are mobility / logistically challenged make a poster display in your street side window people will view walking or driving. We can participate May 1st. !!!!

Expand full comment
Stacey Jenkins's avatar

Thank you

Expand full comment
Marty B's avatar

Hello.

First THANKYOU!!!

2nd, Detroit past protests have been massive.

Your MAP lists the Detroit protest at the Detroit Institute of Arts (a central location in Detroit.)

Your LIST indicates the protest is at Hart Plaza in Detroit. (Another central but different Location). The MayDayStrong site does not list either of these. Is it one, or both, or neither. As parking is an issue, people need to plan ahead. It would be helpful to correct these ASAP for better impact. Otherwise folks will spend the 2 hours wandering around, looking for the protest, or not bother to go at all, due to the confusion.

THANKYOU again!!

Expand full comment
K. Starling's avatar

Hello, the one in Hart Plaza was for 4/26. The one for the 1st is linked to the May Day site. Hope this helps :) https://www.mobilize.us/mayday/event/776926/

Expand full comment
Christopher O'Bleness's avatar

Thank you for your protest list, it is so helpful for sharing with friends and family across the country and to point readers of my newsletter your way as well!

Expand full comment
Jody Brink's avatar

This is a fabulous resource, thank you!!

Expand full comment
Cheryl F.'s avatar

Thanks for all your work! FYI the list is loading with large gaps between events. This happened yesterday as well.

Expand full comment
Larry McGinnity's avatar

We the People at Work

The People, the protectors of Democracy, are out and about. What "people," out where, about what--and why? First, millions said "Hand Off"to Trump/Musk et al, then on the 19th via 50501" (50 protests, 5o states, 1 Movement) millions more protested the mess in WDC. Also on the 19th we celebrated the "the shot heard around the world at Lexington and Concord, starting the Revolution and our country. On the 22nd protectors of the environment cleaned up a different kind of mess on Earth Day.

As important as the participants in environmental mess cleanup and American history are, this post is dedicated to the named and unnamed protestors fighting the Trump/Musk Washington, DC, tyrannical mess. Or as Susan Grymes calls it: Protectors [of democracy, and so shall I in this post.

Who are the Protectors of democracy on April 5, 19th, May 1st--or all the everydays in between and into the future?? We will never know the names of each individual marcher, sign holder (or just standing together in solidarity). But we do know by name some people, advocacy groups, judges and law firms, and other entities who have not been cowed, and have fought back publicly--sometimes under threat of death.. Some, such as Sen. Cory Booker, with his 25 hour righteous speech on ethics, morality, and American democracy,have become an inspiration. Here then, in no particular order of noteworthy (except the first three), are the names of many of the army of protectors of democracy--and remember Courage is Contagious:

(Of course, the list is imperfect, Additions are welcomed. Also re-posting is permitted and encouraged.

PROTECTORS OF DEMOCRACY (By pen, voice, sign, or act)

(Updated April 25, 2025 Individuals

Heather Cox Richardson/"Letters from an American"

Jess Piper/"View from Rural Missouri"

Joyce Vance/"Civil Discourse"

Rep. AOC

AGs, 23 Blue States

Aaron Parnas

Adam Kinzinger

Sen. Adam Schiff

Adam Smith

Alex Wagner

Alexander Vindman

Ali Velshi

Alison Gill

Alvin Bragg (and the unnamed Manhattan jurors)

Amb. Susan Rice

Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales/Democracy Now

Anand Giridharadas

Anat Shenker-Osario

Andrew Weissmann

Andy Borowitz

Ann Telnaes

Anne Applebaum,

Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF (Freedom from Religion Foundation)

Ari Melber

August Flentje

Ben Meiselas

Beth Benike

Brett Meiselas

Brian Tyler Cohen

Cassidy Hutchinson

Charlotte Clymer

Chris Hayes

Chris Krebs

Col. Susannah Meyers

Congressman Jim Himes

D. Earl Stevens

Dan Barker, FFRF (Freedom from Religion Foundation)

Dan Pfeiffer

Dan Rather

Daniel Berulis

Daniel Morton-Bentley

David Hogg

Dean Obeidallah

Delia Ramirez

Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Sen. Elyssa Slotkin

Erez Reuveni

Rep. Eric Swalwell

Garrison Keillor

Garry Kasparov

George Conway

Glenn Kirschner

Gov. Beshear

Gov. Janet Mills

Gov. Kathy Hochul

Gov. Maura Healey (MA)

Gov. Tim Walz (MN)

Gov. Tony Evers (WI)

Greg Olear

J.B. Pritzker

Jake Auchincloss

Rep.Jamie Raskin

Rep. Jasmine Crockett

Jay Kou

Jeff Danziger

Sen. Jeff Merkley

Jeff Stein

Jeff Tiedrich

Jen Rubin And the Contrarians

Jeremy Seahill

Jessica Craven

Jessica Yellin

Jim Acosta

Jim Hightower

Jimmy Kimmel

J-L Cauvin

John Cusack

John Larson

Sen. Jon Ossoff

Jonathan Bernstein,

Jordy Meiselas

Josh Johnson (stand-up comedian)

Josh Marshall

Joy Reid

Judd Legum (popular Information)

Julie Roginsky

Katie Fang

Ken Harbaugh

Lawrence O;Donnell

Liz Cheney

Lucian Truscott IV

Marianne Williamson

Mark Fiore

Marvin Kalb

Mary L. Trump

Maxwell Frost

Mayor Michelle Wu

Mehdi Hasan

Melvin Gurai

Michael Bennett

Michel Zeitgeist

Miles Taylor

Nicolle Wallllace

Noel Casler (former and current staff of the Inter-American Foundation, a small but

mighty federal agency for Latin America)

Olga Lautman

Paul Krugman

Prof. Lawrence Tribe

Qasim Rachid

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

Rachel Cohen

Rachel Maddow

Rebecca Solnit

Rep. Andrew Egger

Rep. Emily Randall

Rep. Jessica Denson

Rep. Jonathan V. Last

Rep. Noe Casler

Rep. Pramila Jayapal

Rep. Sarah Longwell

Rep. Al Green

Rep. Don Beyer

Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde

Rev. William J. Barber II

Rez Reuveni (acting deputy director for the Office of Immigration Litigation, and his

supervisor)

Rich Wilson

Robert B. Hubbell

Robert Reich

Roger Parloff

Ron Filipkowski

Ruth Ben-Ghait

Sarah Inama

Scott Dworkin

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (whistleblower)

Sen. Andy Kim

Sen. Chris Murphy

Sen. Chris Van Hollen

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

Sen. Lisa Murkowski

Sen. Maria Cantwell

Sen. Patty Murray

Sen. Ron Wyden

Sharon McMahon

Sheldon Whitehouse

Simon Rosenberg

Stacey Abrams

Stephanie Miller

Stephen King

Steve Brodner

Steve Schmidt

Sue Nethercott

Sen. Tammy Duckworth

Tennessee Brandon

Thom Hartmann

Tim Snyder

Timothy Snyder

Tristan Snell

Will Bunch

Zev Shalev

ADVOCACY GROUPS, MEDIA NETWORKS

ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)

AICN (North Carolina)

American Oversight

Bill Kristol/all NeverTrumpers (North Carolina)

Blue Future

Blue Missouri

Blue Wave

Bluesky

Bulwark Media

CODEPINK

CREW

DemCast

Democracy Forward

Democracy Index

DemocracyLabs

Every State Blue

Feathers of Hope

Field Team 6 (North Carolina)

FiftyFifty one (50501)

Fred Wellman/On Democracy

"Hands Off"

Indivisible

Jessica Valenti/Abortion Everyday

Lambda Legal

League of Women Voters

Marc Elias/Democracy Docket

MeidasTouch Network

MoveOn

MSNBC (an exception to corporate news, and their suppressing news0

No Kings

Olivia Troy

Protect Democracy

Public Citizen/Co-president Robert Weissman

Run for Something

Seneca Project

Substack

The 19th/Errin Haines

The American Manifesto

The Bulwark

The Civic Center

The Dean's List/ Dean Obeidallah

The Dr. Martin Luther King Center

The Lincoln Project

The Politics Girl

The States Project (North Carolina)

The Union (North Carolina)

Third Act

Thomas Zimmer/Democracy Americana

We the People Dissent

Working Families Party

LAW FIRMS/ORGANIZATIONS, LAWYERS, COURTS, ACADEMIA

American Bar Association

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer

Big Ten Universities

David Pepper

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (representing the Amica Center for Immigrants Rights and others seeking to block funding cuts for immigrant legal services

Harvard/President Alan M. Garber

Hogan Lovells (seeking to block executive orders to end federal funding for gender-

affirming medical care Law.com)

Jenner & Block (also seeking to block the orders on cuts to medical research funding)

​Judge Hannah Dugan

Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III

(former) Judge J. Michael Luttig

Judge James Boasberg

Judge Paula Xinis

Judge Royce Lamberth

Justice Elena Kagan

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

Justices Sonia Sotomayer

Northwestern U

Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling (have resisted Trump, fighting back with the help of other courageous firms like Williams & Connolly)

Presidents of 328 U.S. colleges and universities have signed a letter condemning

“government overreach." (including St. Louis University)

Ropes & Gray (also seeking to block cuts to medical research funding Law.com)

Susman Godfrey law firm

UC Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr (per the ABA Journal, representing fired

inspectors general Law.com)

Wilmer Hale Keker, Van Nest & Peters,

Southern Poverty Law Center

Letter signed by 500 law firms joined a court brief supporting Perkins Coie lawsuit against the Trump Administration)

To paraphrase Churchill: We shall fight them in the streets, we shall fight them on the sidewalks, we shall fight them on the internet, we shall fight them in the courts, we shall fight them in the Congress, we shall fight them in the voting booth--We shall never surrender. YOU ARE NEVER ALONE. SOLIDARITY..

E pluribus unum ( "Out of many, one")

Expand full comment
Sandra McKenzie's avatar

Thanks for the strong research you did to assemble such a comprehensive list of supporters, trailblazers, and heroes in the fight to protect our democracy. I’m more informed from reading your inspiring post. I could be wrong, but I think the Katie Fang listed may be Phang? Looking forward to more great information!

Expand full comment
Larry McGinnity's avatar

Corrected. Thanks (Plus Harry Litman inadverdently missed but added)

Expand full comment
Sandra McKenzie's avatar

Right! He's a good one too! Thanks!

Expand full comment
Trena Barnett's avatar

WWI would have tarred and feathered, WWII would have taken him out with a rifle. We’re trying to avoid the 2nd civil war with peaceful demonstrations. Everyday resistance grows

Expand full comment
PJB's avatar

What can you find about the two people who were arrested in Dallas over the weekend, the Protest leader and a driver? The DMN is behind a paywall and while there was a small article, nothing else is popping up but a video of them being taking in parking lot by dallas police.

Expand full comment
PJB's avatar

Found a brief update, the woman was a Union Leader, charged with obstructing a highway, released this morning. No details on the charge, if she indeed blocked a road, then it was legitimate, if not overkill. No other information could be found.

Expand full comment