Cold rain but protests persist in Shelburne, and across U.S.

On Saturday, April 5, both sides of Shelburne Road were lined with around 500 protesters from Church Street to Harbor Road. A big percentage of the crowd was from Charlotte.

At a protest near the Tesla dealership in South Burlington on March 22, one had to ask two or three times to find someone from Charlotte. At the April 5 protest, every time you asked, several people immediately shouted out that they were from Charlotte.

Estimates are that more than 5 million people in 1,400 large cities and small towns across the United States turned out on April 5 to speak up against the administration’s policies.

Besides Shelburne, people opposed to a myriad of President Donald Trump’s directives were protesting in at least 18 other Vermont towns, including Barton, Bennington, Brandon, Brattleboro, Burlington, Chester, Hartford, Jericho, Manchester Center, Montpelier, Newport, Rutland, Saint Albans, South Burlington, South Royalton, Vergennes, Wilmington and Winooski. According to news reports and conversations with people who were there, the protests in Burlington and Montpelier were packed.

Many expressed fear that the administration was subverting the Constitution and threatening democracy in the United States. Other concerns included worries that education is at risk; libraries are threatened; immigrants are being deported without due process; transgender rights are being attacked; national forests are being harmed; diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have been banned; women’s rights are at peril; climate change is being exacerbated; Elon Musk is gutting the federal work force illegally; but the complaints are too numerous to list.

Now 50501, one of the ad hoc groups that have sprung up in response to the actions taken in the first 100 days of Trump’s second administration, is calling for another day of action on this Saturday, April 19.

They are calling for 11 million people to take part this time. If that happens it would mean that 3.5 percent of the U.S. population show up.

Photo by Jeffrey Pascoe. People filled Church Street in Burlington from Main Street to its end.

Photo by Scooter MacMillan. A good number of canine commedians wore signs with the “E” in “DOGE” crossed out.

Photo by Scooter MacMillan. The rain and cold didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of protesters or diminish their ire.

Photos by Scooter MacMillan. Tariffs were another popular target of protesters’ anger.