Hundreds gather in Boston for 'No Kings on Presidents Day' protest

Protesters against President Donald Trump and his policies braved frigid temperatures in Boston to demonstrate Monday at rallies corresponding with the Presidents Day holiday.

Dubbed “No Kings on Presidents Day” by the 50501 Movement, the latest protests came less than two weeks after a similar nationwide event on Feb. 5 drew participants in dozens of cities. Both protests denounced Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk, the leader of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, an outside-government organization designed to slash federal spending.

Nearly 1,000 people marched in the snow from the State House in Boston to City Hall, chanting “Elon Musk has got to go” and “No kings on Presidents Day!” The temperature was below freezing with wind chills in the teens.

Boston protesters, some dressed in Revolutionary War-style clothing from the 1700s, carried signs saying such things as “This is a Coup” and “Cowards Bow to Trump, Patriots Stand Up.” One sign had a depiction of Uncle Sam saying “I Want You to Resist.”

“I thought it was important to be here on Presidents Day to demonstrate for what America stands for,” said Emily Manning, 55, a Boston engineer who came to the rally with her two teenage sons. “American values are not the values of the plutocracy or the limited few rich people.”

Stephen Kyle, who attended the protest, said it's important for those frustrated with the Trump administration to be seen and heard.

“We have the same enemy. It's us, the working people versus the oligarchs. We won't stand for this,” Kyle said.

Organizers of Monday’s protests, which were focused on state capitals and major cities including Washington, D.C.; Orlando, Florida; and Seattle, said they were targeting “anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies.”

Rebecca Winter, a local spokesperson for 50501, said the protests are a chance to turn people's concerns about the government into action.

She wants people to “get off of social media, get off of the internet, show up and really fight for our democracy in person.”

The rallies followed a series of Trump executive orders and came just days after layoffs across federal agencies as part of an effort to reduce the government workforce.

With additional reporting by WBUR's Rachell Sanchez-Smith