More than 100 Juneauites took to the sidewalk across the street from the Alaska State Capitol Wednesday afternoon to join a nationwide protest against President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders.
In his first week in office, Trump signed dozens of executive orders that could have tremendous impacts on Alaskans — from climate change to oil exploration to birthright citizenship.
The Juneau protest on Wednesday afternoon was part of a nationwide movement called 50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day. Thousands of demonstrators also marched at state capitols across the nation, including Minnesota, Texas and Montana.
Jamiann S’eiltin Hasselquist, a local advocate, led the chants and spoke to the crowd. She called on residents to band together to protect the rights of immigrants, Alaska Native people and other vulnerable populations impacted by the recent orders.
“We’re asking our legislature to protect our democracy, protect our democracy, protect our democracy,” she said.
Protester Luma Diaz wore an Argentinian flag wrapped around her like a cape. She held a sign that invoked the resistance fighters from the “Star Wars” movies with a picture of Princess Leia – and she had a matching hairstyle. Diaz said she showed up to support immigration and women’s rights.
“I’m Argentinian, so I’m an immigrant, and I believe that we do belong in this country, regardless of our social status or immigration status,” she said. “We are the ones that make America great.”
Juneau resident Paul Desloover held a tall sign that blended the names of the president and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy. He said he feels like he’s experiencing déjà vu.
“Actually, I made this sign four years ago for a protest,” he said.
Desloover said he came to push back against the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration and LGBTQ+ rights. He said he thinks Trump’s actions are influencing how Dunleavy acts here in Alaska — and that makes him nervous.
“Our governor is just like Trump, his policies, his attitude toward government, is the same. It’s destructive to democracy,” he said.
Another protester, Maggie Drapeaux, said she worries about Trump’s effort to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and pull federal funds away from classrooms. Currently, Juneau has five designated Title I schools, meaning they receive a share of federal funding that the state allocates to districts to support students.
“Honestly, Trump going after the Department of Education. That’s most concerning, because I have a son who’s in elementary and he receives services that he needs to be functioning,” she said.
A few state lawmakers joined the crowd, including Juneau’s Rep. Sara Hannan, a Democrat. She said her constituents have expressed a lot of fear and anxiety since Trump took office.
“A lot of concern in the state, the economics over cutting off federal grants and services is pretty significant in Alaska because we get a lot of federal money to keep us going,” Hannan said.
KTOO’s Jamie Diep contributed to this story.