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#NotMyPresidentsDay: About 1,000 protesters show up for anti-Trump rally in LA
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Protesters march down a street past Los Angeles City Hall on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. Demonstrators gathered to express their opposition to President Donald Trump and take part in a "Not My President's Day" rally.
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AP Photo/Richard Vogel
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Some of an estimated 1,000 protestors gather at Los Angeles City Hall as part of the "Not My President's Day" march.
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Kyle Stokes / KPCC
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Protesters stand on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. Demonstrators gathered to express their opposition to President Donald Trump and take part in a "Not My President's Day" rally.
(
AP Photo/Richard Vogel
)
Protesters stand on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall on Monday, Feb. 20, 2017. Demonstrators gathered to express their opposition to President Donald Trump and take part in a "Not My President's Day" rally.
(
AP Photo/Richard Vogel
)
About 1,000 protesters took to the steps of Los Angeles City Hall Monday to air a range of grievances against President Donald Trump, joining similar rallies in Chicago, New York, Denver and Washington, D.C., that sought to rebrand the federal holiday as “Not My President's Day.”
Olga Lexell, one of the organizers of Monday’s rally in L.A., told KPCC that she and her friends wanted to continue the momentum between the Women’s March, which drew millions into the streets across the country on Jan. 21, and the next large protest in Washington planned for Tax Day, April 15.
“We understand Donald Trump is literally our president,” Lexell said, referencing some criticism the rally has received for its name. “But figuratively, he’s refused to represent the interests of the majority of Americans.”
Protestors on Monday targeted a range of Trump administration policies with which they disagree — from Trump’s stance on illegal immigration to questions about his relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Marta Esparza of Chino Hills, who wore an American flag bow-tie to the event, said she was marching in hopes of supporting the rights of LGBT people and of immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization.
“I hope that we keep the resistance going,” Esparza said. “I hope we keep the momentum going. I hope this serves as motivation for other people to join and to resist.”
Some protestors spoke out for the importance of a free press.
The protest was not affiliated with any major organizations or politicians. Lexell described the group as a “collective of independent progressives.”
Monday’s rally came after a spate of other recent demonstrations in Southern California and across the country aimed against the Trump administration’s policies.
Some restaurants and other businesses in various cities across the country closed their doors on Thursday as part of the “Day Without Immigrants” boycott and strike to highlight immigrants’ contributions to the U.S. economy. Participation in Los Angeles was spotty.
Several thousand people gathered in downtown L.A. on Saturday to demonstrate against Trump’s immigration policies and recent enforcement raids. Some Trump supporters also showed up to voice their agreement with his stance on immigration.
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