Thousands gathered in cities and towns across 34 states on Saturday for a national day of protest against Republican redistricting plans in Texas and elsewhere.
“Fight the Trump Takeover” was anchored in Austin, Texas, with other sites spread nationwide.
In Austin alone, more than 5,000 protestors gathered at the city’s capitol in a show of defiance. Videos and photos on social media showed protestors holding various signs that read: “Abbott is a vote thief,” referring to the state’s Republican governor and “Fight the Trump takeover.”
Others chanted in a rally, yelling: “Shame on Abbott” and “The people, united, will never be divided.”
Speakers at the rally in Austin included the 95-year-old labor activist Dolores Huerta, Texas congressman Greg Casar and former congressman Beto O’Rourke.
“Texas House Democrats are blocking a redistricting vote in the Texas House right now to Stop the Trump Takeover,” a website for the protests says. “But Trump has made it clear that he’s not stopping at Texas. He’s targeting Missouri, Ohio, Florida and every state he can twist to help him steal Congress.”
The protests came as Texas Republicans are considering a mid-decade redistricting plan at Donald Trump’s request that would add five additional Republican House seats to the red state. In response Democratic lawmakers have left the state in protest, depriving the statehouse of a quorum needed to move its plans ahead.
“Though this fight started in Texas, it doesn’t end here,” Drucilla Tigner, executive director of Texas For All, said in a statement. “This isn’t just about redistricting or one state’s politics. It’s about the future of our democracy.”
Before the rally, O’Rourke wrote on X: “Thanks to everyone who has joined us in this fight for Texas, we’ve been able to donate over $1 MILLION to the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, the Texas House Democratic Caucus, and the Mexican American Legislative Caucus during the special session.”
On Thursday, the Democratic governor of California, Gavin Newsom, announced Democrats there would move ahead with a plan to redistrict the blue state in response to Texas’s effort. But, Newsom said, the plan for new California maps would only take effect if Texas or other red states pushed ahead with their own plans for partisan redistricting.
Texas Democrats said on Thursday that they would return to the state after a nearly two-week absence if certain conditions were met, including Republicans ending their special session and California introducing its new map that would add five Democratic seats to offset Texas’s proposal.
“The incredible support we’re seeing – not just back home in Texas, but from Democrats, Republicans and independents across the country – proves this fight is bigger than any one state,” said congressman Gene Wu, chair of the Texas house Democrats. “We’re defending our entire country from the Trump takeover, and I’m honored to stand with every patriotic American who refuses to let extremists rig the system.”
Major left-leaning organizations including Indivisible and MoveOn helped organize and support the protests, as is the Democratic National Committee. “Trump knows the only way he can hold the majority after his budget betrayal is by changing the rules in the middle of the game to avoid accountability for ripping healthcare and food away from millions of Americans,” the DNC chair, Ken Martin, told NBC News.
Organizers used an approach they have honed in the second Trump administration – holding protests in places big and small to show that dissent against the administration exists in all corners of the country.
Saturday’s protests also took place across the country, including in Washington DC where hundreds staged a demonstration outside the White House, carrying signs and banners that read: “No Kings in America Since 1776” and “Not Normal, Not American”.
An April day of protest called “Hands Off” drew people to more than 1,000 sites. In June, as Trump held a military parade in Washington, millions turned out to more than 2,000 sites nationwide for “No Kings” protests. Other days of action themed around labor and immigrants rights and voting rights also brought out tens of thousands of people on weekdays.
Planning is under way for another mass day of protest set for Labor Day, on 1 September.
