Protesters begin their march around the West Virginia Capitol after their rally on the south steps during the “50501 Protest” on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
Robin Cutlip, president of the Women’s March of West Virginia, (center with microphone) speaks during the “50501 Protest” on the south steps of the West Virginia Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
A speaker, who identified himself as Rio of Charleston, leads a chant during the “50501 Protest” on the south steps of the West Virginia Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
Hundreds of protesters gathered at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston to demonstrate against the policies of President Trump’s administration and Project 2025 on Feb. 5, 2025. This was part of a nationwide movement called “50 Protests, 50 States, 1 Day,” which organized protests in state capitals and major cities across the U.S.
More than 300 people gathered on the south side of West Virginia’s Capitol Wednesday afternoon to protest recent actions of President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Project 2025.
Protesters begin their march around the West Virginia Capitol after their rally on the south steps during the “50501 Protest” on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
CHRIS DORST | Gazette-Mail
Project 2025 is a collection of conservative policy proposals. While campaigning for president, Trump denied Project 2025 was a blueprint for his second administration, though its authors include several veterans of Trump’s first term in office and some from his current or planned administration, including Russell Vought, his pick for chief of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Robin Cutlip, president of the Women’s March of West Virginia, (center with microphone) speaks during the “50501 Protest” on the south steps of the West Virginia Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
CHRIS DORST | Gazette-Mail
Similar protests, known as 50501 to represent “50 states, 50 protests, 1 day,” took place across the country. They were organized through social media. The Charleston protest was a true grassroots gathering with no organizer in charge, according to Robin Cutlip, president of Women’s March of West Virginia.
Cutlip said an organizing group isn’t necessary “when you have people who have a voice.”
Cutlip was hoping for at least 50 attendees at the protest. Plans for 50501 protests started around 10 days ago on the social media site Reddit.
Protesters listen to speakers during the “50501 Protest” on the south steps of the West Virginia Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
CHRIS DORST | Gazette-Mail
Attendees shared their priorities with signs such as “No Project 2025,” “Send Musk to Mars,” “Hands Off My Social Security” and “Reject Fascism Defend Equality.”
Megan Clevenger’s cardboard sign read, “I don’t like this episode of Black Mirror,” referring to a dystopian television drama.
Clevenger, of Charleston, said she sees parallels to the TV show as society and government are “going backwards,” especially when it comes to the rights of the LGBTQ community, to which she said she belongs.
“I would like to just spread awareness. I was waiting for a protest, so, as soon as I [saw] it, I was like ‘I have to go out and support everybody in this community here,’” she said.
A speaker, who identified himself as Rio of Charleston, leads a chant during the “50501 Protest” on the south steps of the West Virginia Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
CHRIS DORST | Gazette-Mail
Delegate Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, who attended the event, said the protesters might not agree on every issue, but “one thing we do agree on is that we’re going down the wrong road, and that we can do better, and we need to do better.”
Damian Herrada came from Summersville with homemade signs about diversity, equity and inclusion, and immigrants, LGBTQ and women’s rights.
Herrada said he is concerned for the families of those being deported and for people like his brother.
“My brother, he’s autistic. If it wasn’t for a lot of help that he got in school, he’d probably be dead right now,” Herrada said. “The last thing we need to do is dismantle the [federal] Department of Education.”
Fears of deportation
The three Olivares sisters, from South Charleston, came to protest the deportation of undocumented immigrants and fight for the rights of an undocumented relative who’s lived in the country for 25 years. They wore Mexican flags or blankets and a sombrero.
Their signs read, “Stop pretending your racism is patriotism,” and “Using my voice for the Hispanics that can’t.”
“I’ve seen the mass deportations. I’ve seen people in fear not wanting to go to work,” Nevaeh Olivares said. “I’m scared for my family.”
Illana Olivares said she and her sisters had been “dehumanized” because of their race. She said she wished people would look at more than her relative’s race.
“It’s just hard that people hate him just [because] he cannot speak English and because of what he looks like,” Illana Olivares said. “That’s why I’m here today — to show people that he ... has a right to be here, just as everyone else.”
Other views
Britney Helton, a lifelong friend of the Olivares sisters, came to the event in their support. She also came to fight for LGBTQ rights.
“As a gay woman, I don’t want my rights to be taken away, my right to marry someone I love — that’s terrifying,” she said. “I’m just here to fight for everyone’s rights in general, because, no matter what, underneath the skin, we’re all human. We all bleed the same color.”
DL Hamilton, of Charleston, attends the "50501 Protest" on the south steps of the West Virginia Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
CHRIS DORST | Gazette-Mail
Protester DL Hamilton, 71, said she couldn’t believe she was feeling threatened by “authoritarianism in the United States.” She’s been protesting since high school, when she said she was allowed to drive from Oak Hill to Charleston for the first time for a protest against the Vietnam War.
On the steps of the Capitol, she set up an “indigenous-inspired altar” representing the elements of earth, air, fire and water. Some of her signs mentioned Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., and Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
Hamilton cried as she said she felt her voice was not wanted and wouldn’t be heard in the statehouse.
“I just feel that Donald Trump, Jim Justice and Morrisey have some kind of agenda that does not have the earth or the people in mind,” she said. “They just do not care about this land or about West Virginia or about really anything other than their own power, glory and manipulation.”
March around the Capitol
For about an hour, protesters, including a few elementary-aged children, stood in front of the Capitol speaking with a loudspeaker brought by an organizer who called himself Rio.
No counter-protesters or Trump supporters were seen at the rally.
Protestors hold signs while listening to speakers during the 50501 Protest on the south steps of the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
Protesters begin their march around the West Virginia Capitol after their rally on the south steps during the “50501 Protest” on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
Protestors holding signs begin their march around the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia following their rally on the south side steps during the 50501 Protest Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
A speaker, who identified himself as Rio of Charleston, leads a chant during the “50501 Protest” on the south steps of the West Virginia Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
Protestors hold signs while listening to speakers during the 50501 Protest on the south steps of the West Virginia Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
Robin Cutlip, president of the Women’s March of West Virginia, (center with microphone) speaks during the “50501 Protest” on the south steps of the West Virginia Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.
Then, they marched around the Capitol, chanting “No more Nazis” and “Out with Morrisey.” Some drivers showed their support by honking their horns.
Andrew Taylor, 17, a junior at Riverside High School, said it was important for him to be at the protest, even though he’s not a woman, gay, transgender or an immigrant.
“I have nothing that would really make me lose sleep at night,” he said. “I have the perfect ability to come here and to be able to fight for other people because other people can’t fight for themselves.”
