Regional Overview
United States & Canada
March 2025

United States: Demonstrations surge in response to Trump, Musk

Demonstrations in the United States spiked to their highest levels since October 2023, which marked the beginning of the ongoing war in Gaza. The overall number of demonstrations last month eclipsed — by more than double — the levels recorded during the contentious November 2024 presidential election, despite some commentators suggesting a lack of public response to the major changes instituted by President Donald Trump’s administration.¹Quoctrung Bui, “Americans Are Following the Trump News More Than I Expected,” The New York Times, 26 February 2025 

This wider surge was driven by mobilization against Trump’s executive orders and the actions of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk. February 2025 saw the highest-ever number of demonstrations against Trump in a single month since ACLED began collecting US data in 2020, surpassing both the 2020 and 2024 elections, as well as public outrage over the Capitol riot. Many of these demonstrations were organized on a grassroots level via social media as part of the 50501 movement, which began calling for 50 protests in all 50 states on one day but has since expanded into ongoing demonstrations against the Trump administration.²Morgan Lee, “Protesters in cities across the US rally against Trump’s policies, Project 2025 and Elon Musk,” The Associated Press, 6 February 2025 Just under half of all anti-Trump demonstrations last month were organized by the 50501 movement on 17 February, which marks the President’s Day holiday.

Demonstrators called attention to specific policy issues, demanding support for migrants, protections for transgender people, and an end to DOGE’s firing of federal employees. As a result, demonstrations with pro-migration, pro-LGBTQ+, and anti-Elon Musk sentiment all reached their highest-ever recorded levels in a single month, with each at least doubling in frequency compared to the previous month. Pro-migration demonstrations were held across the country, often with the participation of people from Latin American communities, and were especially concentrated in southern states. California alone accounted for roughly 20% of these demonstrations, while Texas and Florida accounted for roughly 8% each. 

Pro-LGBTQ+ demonstrations, meanwhile, came in response to a flurry of executive actions targeting transgender people. In his inaugural address, Trump asserted that there are “only two genders: male and female” and later signed an executive order making this the policy of the US government.³CNN, “Trump in inaugural address: ‘There are only two genders: male and female,’” 1 January 2025; Daniel Arkin, Yamiche Alcindor, and Matt Lavietes, “Trump signs executive orders proclaiming there are only two biological sexes, halting diversity programs,” NBC News, 20 January 2025 Trump has banned transgender women from participating in women’s sports, instructed the Pentagon to remove transgender soldiers from military service, and halted federal funding for providers of gender-affirming care for minors.⁴Glad Law, “Making Sense of the Trump Administration’s Anti-LGBTQ+ Executive Orders,” 4 February 2025; Brooke Sopelsa, Jo Yurcaba, and Katrina Lambert, “Trump signs executive order banning trans women from women’s sports,” NBC News, 5 February 2025; Jo Yurcaba and Courtney Kube, “Transgender troops will be removed from the military, Pentagon says,” NBC News, 27 February 2025; The Associated Press, “Judge orders longer-term nationwide block on Trump orders on transgender youth health care,” 5 March 2025; Alicia Roth Weigel, “Trump’s ‘Biological Truth’ Executive Order is Not Based in Biology or Truth,” TIME Magazine, 23 January 2025 On the state level, Alabama passed legislation defining sex as determined at birth on 12 February.⁵Mike Cason, “Alabama passes ‘What is a Woman?’ bill defining sex at birth,” AL.com, 12 February 2025 At the same time, 17 states, led by Texas, have filed a suit to end protections for students from Kindergarten through 12th grade with special needs established by a 1973 law. Though the lawsuit primarily objects to new language by the Biden administration expanding this law to protect transgender individuals, it also calls for the abolition of the law in its entirety.⁶Peter Greene, “17 States Sue To End Protections For Students With Special Needs,” Forbes, 13 February 2025

Opposition to Elon Musk’s handling of DOGE, which has promised to overhaul government spending, was so pronounced that the number of demonstrations with explicit anti-Musk sentiment surpassed even those with explicit anti-Trump sentiment last month.⁷Joe Hernandez, “DOGE is making major changes to the federal government. Is it legal?” NPR, 4 February 2025 DOGE has fired tens of thousands of federal workers and claims to have reduced government spending by over 100 billion dollars, though journalists have found repeated mistakes in its public accounting.⁸Tim Reid, “Explainer: What is Elon Musk’s DOGE? How much money has it saved US taxpayers?” Reuters, 4 March 2025 Anti-Musk demonstrators cited Musk’s sweeping mandate, granted by Trump, as a source of concern, as Musk was given these powers unilaterally and was not subject to congressional approval. At least two pending lawsuits challenge the constitutionality of Musk’s actions on these grounds.⁹Devin Dwyer, “Is Elon Musk’s government role unconstitutional? What the Supreme Court might say,” ABC News, 17 February 2025 Some states took action to create entities similar to DOGE on the state level, with governors in Florida, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma creating similar agencies via executive order, while legislation seeking to do the same advanced in several other states.¹⁰Julia Manchester, “Red states pursue their own DOGE-style reforms,” The Hill, 7 February 2025; Ana Goñi-Lessan, “Gov. DeSantis establishes Florida version of DOGE, will cut positions, audit universities,” Tallahassee Democrat, 24 February 2025

Back to map

Extremist Group Spotlight: Capitol riot groups make public comeback

On his first day in office, Trump granted clemency to every individual involved in the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot.¹¹Tom Dreisbach, “Criminal records of Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump include rape, domestic violence,” NPR, 30 January 2025 Since then, the Proud Boys have increased their demonstration activity, while members of the Oath Keepers participated in a public demonstration for the first time in over two years. Members of both groups gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC on 21 February to defend their actions during the Capitol riot. During the demonstration, Enrique Tarrio, former chairman of the Proud Boys, was arrested for assault after knocking a cell phone out of the hands of a bystander who was recording him.¹²The Guardian, “Proud Boys ex-leader Enrique Tarrio arrested for assault near US Capitol,” 21 February 2025 

Tarrio was also present at a pro-Trump rally that took place a few days prior outside the president’s golf club in West Palm Beach. Proud Boys also participated in demonstrations in Oregon and North Carolina, while flyers calling for new recruits were found in Rhode Island. Consequently, February saw the highest single-month number of events involving the Proud Boys since October 2023. However, the group has not yet returned to its former prevalence —  as late as mid-2022, the Proud Boys were present at dozens of events each month across the country. Still, this marked increase in activity is particularly notable because it follows Trump granting clemency to these groups’ leaders and many of their most active members, supporting the hypothesis that these actions could lead to their gradual reactivation. The Proud Boys have historically been one of the most violent groups in the US. 

For more on the Proud Boys, see this ACLED report, Riding the Tide: The Shifting Identity of the Proud Boys Since the Capitol Riot.

Back to map

State Spotlight: White nationalist groups in Ohio

On 7 February, armed individuals affiliated with the neo-Nazi organization Hate Club 1488,¹³The 14 in the group’s name refers to the white supremacist slogan “14 words,” while 88 corresponds to the letters HH for “Heil Hitler.” an offshoot of the Goyim Defense League, waved Swastika flags on a highway overpass in Hamilton, Ohio.¹⁴Southern Poverty Law Center, “Racist Skinhead Glossary,” 29 January 2010 During the demonstration, local bystanders confronted the demonstrators, prompting police intervention to separate the groups.¹⁵Alaa Elassar, “Residents of historic Black community near Cincinnati confront White supremacist demonstrators, months after neo-Nazi march,” CNN, 9 February 2025 At least two sets of white supremacist flyers, one distributed by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and another calling for “race war” were also circulated in the area in February. In response to these actions, local residents held multiple demonstrations — including at least one where firearms were present — and began armed patrols of the neighborhood where the demonstration took place. 

From the beginning of 2023 to February 2024, Ohio has seen some of the highest levels of activity from white supremacist groups of any state, with only California and Texas having more recorded events involving these actors. In addition to Hate Club 1488 and the KKK, the Ohio Active Club and Cincinnati Active Club (which are affiliated with the Rise Above Movement), the Aryan Freedom Network, a White Lives Matter chapter, and at least three Patriot Front chapters have been active in the state in recent years. Patriot Front and White Lives Matter are involved in around 70% of total white supremacist activity in Ohio, mainly in the form of lower-level propaganda efforts such as banner drops and flyers.

Back to map