About 300 Protesters Participate in Protest at Capitol in Bismarck

Protesters display signs.   (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(By: Michael Achterling. North Dakota Monitor) – About 300 protesters lined Boulevard Avenue near the Capitol displaying signs and waving at passing vehicles as part of the nationwide “No Kings” protests.

The protests coincided with the 250th anniversary of the first battles of the Revolutionary War and were part of the “50501” protest movement, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states and one movement.

Joy Jochim of Mandan displayed a sign calling for the protection of transgender rights. She said she is against many of the initiatives President Donald Trump’s administration is carrying out in its first months of work, such as cuts to the Social Security Administration and proposed cuts to Medicaid.

“I’m glad people are coming out and protesting,” Jochim said.

Sharon Korsmo of Bismarck said a person’s “day in court” is fundamental and expressed concerns about the Trump administration’s deportations of hundreds of people to an El Salvador prison without the chance to challenge their cases in court.