This is a developing story
Hours after heavily publicized immigration raids in Aurora and Denver, a large crowd converged on the Colorado State Capitol to protest the new administration of President Donald Trump.
Thousands of people started gathering on the Capitol’s west lawn shortly before noon. The group then moved to block Lincoln Street and started a march circling the Capitol, with crowds continuing to pour in from different directions and blocking traffic on Lincoln Street.
It quickly became the largest protest that the city had seen in the second Trump administration.
“We speak for the ones who can't, because my mom couldn't be out here, because she's an illegal [immigrant] and she's scared,” said Kamila, a high school student. “We want her to be able to speak, be able to be free, be able to be anywhere and not be, like, scared by ICE.”
Kamila, who we are only identifying by her first name for her family’s security, said her mother has been too scared to go to work since Trump took office.
Protesters held signs with messages like “Love Wins Over Hate” and “Children Aren’t Criminals” and “We’re The Voice of The Undocumented” while waving Mexican and U.S. flags.
The Wednesday protest coalesced largely on social media, part of an effort to mount demonstrations in all 50 state capital cities. It has variously been called the 50 States Protest as well as the “50501” protest, a reference to 50 protests in 50 states on a single day.
The permit for Denver’s protest registered the event as “Dumbledore’s Army and The Resistance 5280” — a reference to the students who stood up to the forces of evil in the Harry Potter series.
By 1 p.m., roughly half the protest had splintered, sending hundreds of people marching down Broadway. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people remained at the Capitol, listening to speeches.
Around 3:30 p.m., nearly 1,000 protesters began to march along Colfax Avenue towards an Interstate 25 entrance.
When they reached Osage Street, next to the Auraria campus, police officers blocked their way by placing police vehicles on the road. Officers appeared to be armed with less-lethal weapons.
A Denver police spokesperson confirmed that one person was arrested for “failure to leave the roadway.”
Students from Manuel High School and other Denver schools joined the protest.
Students from Manuel High School and other Denver schools had walked out to join the protest.
“I'm out here just generally to fight against the Trump administration and a lot of the choices he's choosing to make, against trans folks, for imperialism, of threatening to take back Panama and Greenland, and affecting my daily life in being a member of the LGBT [community],” said Alistair Townsend, 18, of 5280 High School.
Rachell and Yesenia, two college students at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and both children of immigrants, drove up to join the protest.
"We are basically the backbone of this country, so we want to be here to show everyone that we're not going anywhere," said Rachell, who declined to give her last name.
“It's important for people to understand that this isn't what it should be like now. We should all just be happy and together,” said Michiah Sineros, a KIPP student.
“I despise what [Trump] is doing. We are seeing a coup unfold here, and as far as I can tell, no one in the powers of the Republican Party are doing anything about it,” said Marsha Baird, who was thinking back to her college days in the Vietnam War protest movement.
Anti-Trump organizing has been gaining momentum in Denver
So far, the protest movement in Denver and elsewhere have been far smaller than it was in the opening days of Trump’s first term, when tens of thousands crammed downtown Denver in weeks of protests. The Women’s March was estimated to have brought 100,000 people into the city on the day after Trump’s first inauguration. It was followed by several weeks of smaller protests.
Before today, no protest had gathered more than a couple hundred attendees.
However, anti-Trump organizing has gained momentum in the city in recent days, driven in large part by the threat of a crackdown on immigrants who lack legal status.
On Monday, nearly 2,000 people packed the halls of Shorter Community AME Church in Denver for a “know your rights” training. The event was focused on actions people could legally take that might help immigrants to avoid arrest.
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Copyright 2025 KUNC
/ Rocky Mountain PBS via the Colorado Capitol News Alliance
