nationwide Walkouts Mark One Year of Presidential Administration
Demonstrations focused on immigration policies, military presence, and rights for transgender individuals.
- The “Free america Walkout” was coordinated by the Women’s March and took place on the anniversary of the President’s inauguration.
- Protests occurred in multiple Southern California cities, including Los Angeles, Pasadena, Burbank, Long Beach, and Santa Monica.
- Demonstrators specifically cited concerns over Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and the administration’s stance on transgender rights.
- The walkout was intentionally scheduled during work and school hours to disrupt “business as usual.”
The coordinated “Free America Walkout” at Los Angeles City Hall was one of many rallies held nationwide. Organizers intended the demonstrations to highlight opposition to what they described as violent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, an increased military presence in cities, harmful immigration policies impacting families, and escalating attacks on transgender rights.
Hundreds marched along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, carrying signs with slogans like “Democracy doesn’t fear protest, dictators do” and “We choose freedom over fascism.” Students at Garfield and Roosevelt high schools in East Los Angeles also participated, leaving class to join the downtown Los Angeles rally.
“I just don’t know if he’s actually done anything that is positive,” downtown protester Mario Noguera told reporters. “Everything’s been about depleting everything: resources, rights. I just don’t feel like we’re getting anywhere.”
The walkout coincided with the anniversary of the President’s inauguration, an event he commemorated with a nearly two-hour news conference. during the conference, he described his first year in office as “an amazing period of time” and claimed his administration had accomplished more than any other in history.
“We have a book that I’m not going to read to you, but these are the accomplishments of what we’ve produced, page after page after page of individual things,” the President said, displaying a thick stack of papers. “I could sit here, read it for a week, and we wouldn’t be finished.”
He touted accomplishments including tariffs, an immigration crackdown, the state of the economy, and actions taken in Gaza and Venezuela.
The Free America Walkout began at 2 p.m. in cities across the U.S., deliberately differing from weekend protests like the “No Kings” demonstrations by taking place during the workday. Organizers stated that walkouts demonstrate collective power, while protests demonstrate collective anger.
“A walkout interrupts business as usual,” organizers explained. “It makes visible how much our labor,participation,and cooperation are taken for granted – and what happens when we withdraw them together.”
In downtown Los Angeles, protesters specifically condemned the effects of ICE raids, both locally and in Minneapolis, where a federal agent recently shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a wife and mother.
Thousands of demonstrators had already taken to the streets of Los angeles earlier this month as part of the “ICE Out for Good” weekend of action, a national protest movement sparked by Good’s killing.
Roxanne Hoge, chair of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, criticized the protests. “Their boring, predictable tantrums are now part of the L.A. landscape, much like the dilapidated RVs and dangerous encampments that their policies result in,” Hoge said. “We are interested in good governance and public safety, and wish our Democrat friends would join us in advocating for both.”
