Las Vegas protesters join in nationwide rallies decrying Trump’s recent actions

A crowd of demonstrators gathered Wednesday outside of the Bellagio near the property’s iconic fountains, some armed with signs proclaiming, “Stand for Democracy” and “No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA!”

About 100 protesters marched from the Bellagio to the Trump International Hotel, chanting the phrases and waving American flags. It was one of the many demonstrations nationally opposed to President Donald Trump and the actions of his administration since he reentered office last month.

“I’m here to protest because there’s a lot of scary things going on in the world right now, and I definitely think that our president should be helping to make things better. But he’s clearly inciting more fear among a lot of other people,” said Mariana Martin, a 22-year-old Las Vegas resident and first-generation Mexican-American who was attending her first protest. “He should not be in power.”

Martin’s sign touted the website impeachtrumpagain.org, which links to a petition calling for Trump’s impeachment.

The Las Vegas demonstration was part of a nationwide movement that took off online under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day.

The local event was organized on the popular social media platform Reddit under the r/50501 subreddit. Another protest associated with the same movement took place in front of the Nevada Legislative Building in Carson City.

A moderator on the 50501 subreddit said that in 12 days, they’ve brought together 72,000 participants between Reddit and Discord — another messaging application — and planned 67 protests within 40 states.

“All of this was an UNIMAGINABLE feat just 12 days ago, but WE THE PEOPLE rose to the challenge to prove that we CAN and we WILL do the improbable. STAND TALL on the work you have done here, because nobody can do it like the American people,” said the moderator — who goes by “honeydoulemon” — in a Reddit post Wednesday.

The administration has promised to conduct the “largest deportation operation in American history.” Though Trump has said criminals would be the priority, the White House has said anyone living in the U.S. illegally is a criminal and eligible for being removed from the country.

Under federal law, being in the U.S. illegally is treated as a civil, not criminal, offense.

Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, said Wednesday that more than 8,000 migrants have been arrested since Trump took office Jan. 20. She added that 461 had, for health reasons, been released back into the U.S. rather than being deported.

“Clark County remains focused on our mission to provide vital services to all members of our community,” the county said in a statement posted online. “Clark County is not an enforcement agency and we are not engaged in the enforcement of immigration policies. Eligibility requirements have not been changed for those seeking county services or benefits.”

Trump has signed several executive orders targeting areas like international trade, immigration and climate change.

The administration announced that it was pulling almost all U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) workers off the job and out of the field globally, a move pushed by returning political appointees from Trump’s first term and questionable government-efficiency teams led by billionaire Elon Musk, who called it a “criminal organization.”

The action Wednesday on the Strip wasn’t the first in Las Vegas.

On Monday night, around 500 people gathered near Charleston and Lamb boulevards waving Mexican flags and rallying against Trump in both English and Spanish.

Metro Police said the protest started along sidewalks before large groups ran into the intersection and shut down traffic. Officers gave dispersal orders in English and Spanish, but protesters ignored the directions and several “disruptive individuals” were arrested, which led to protesters throwing rocks and bottles at officers, Metro said.

Five people were arrested for various charges, including an arrest for attempting to hit officers with a vehicle and a child arrested for pointing a firearm at a Metro air patrol. No officers reported any use of force or injuries, Metro said.

A protester at Wednesday’s event said she would continue attending demonstrations against Trump to spread awareness.

“The more of us who stand up, the more noise that we make, the more attention gets brought to the issues,” said a 20-year-old Las Vegas resident who asked to be unnamed. “People start talking about it. Congress starts doing work to block these bills; people in his office directly tell him like, hey, this is not what the people want (so), step down.”

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