Several hundred protesters gathered outside the Lane County Circuit Court in Eugene Thursday afternoon for a “May Day” protest, which was part of a larger coordinated effort across the U.S. to champion working class people.
On the corner of 8th and Oak, people chanted, “Hey hey, ho ho! Donald Trump has got to go!" Those in the crown lifted up homemade signs as passing traffic honked. Some waved upside-down American flags, or ones for Ukraine or LGBTQ+ people.
Many in the crowd denounced the mass layoffs in federal agencies. Jane Kwiatkowski of Eugene held a sign that read, “THANK YOU FEDERAL WORKERS.” She said President Trump and DOGE head Elon Musk have slashed the workforce recklessly, pushing thousands of employees out of their offices.
“They’re like somebody driving with their eyes closed," Kwiatowski told KLCC. "They didn’t ask any experts, they didn’t look at how agencies function or the tasks that they’re trying to do. None of this! And that’s the first thing you do, is gather information and find out how things work before you attempt to repair.”
Others slammed President Trump’s crackdown on immigrants, including Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man wrongly deported to El Salvador. The president has refused to return Garcia to the U.S.
Dianne Wilson of Springfield said this can’t go on.
“We just can’t have that, we can’t have people deported and taken off the streets without due process," she said. "That’s what our country’s all about.”
Wilson and her friend, Peter Almeida of Eugene, both held signs that said, "MAY DAY" but in the spirit of a distress signal.
“Our democracy is in jeopardy. And all the things going on right now are just – they aren’t right. We don’t want a dictatorship, we want our democracy," said Wilson.
“Total dissatisfaction for the mess that’s happening in our country’s capitol," added Almeida. "Things are out of control in a way that I never could have imagined.”
The “May Day Strong” event is the latest anti-Trump protest organized by the 50501 Movement. More than a thousand events in as many U.S. cities were announced.
Now more than 100 days into his term, Trump has pushed back against his critics and is continuing to defend his economic policies, including tariffs. But with market upheaval and lower-than-hoped hiring in April, Trump has resorted to blaming his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the rocky conditions.
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