United States and Canada Overview: March 2025

In this Regional Overview covering February 2025:

1. United States: Demonstrations surge in response to Trump, Musk
2. Group Spotlight: Capitol riot groups make public comeback
3. State Spotlight: White nationalist groups in Ohio

Demonstration trends

This section provides key figures on demonstration events, which includes incidents categorized as 'Protests,' and 'Violent demonstrations' as recorded by ACLED. For more information on event and sub-event types, see the ACLED Codebook

• United States: 1,509 demonstration events
• Canada: 116 demonstration events
• United States: 129% increase compared to last month
• Canada: 53% increase compared to last month

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.¹ 

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.² 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.³ 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.⁴ On the state level, Alabama passed legislation defining sex as determined at birth on 12 February.⁵ 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.⁶

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.⁷ 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.⁸ 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.⁹ 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.¹⁰

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Radical group trends

This section provides key figures on far-right and white nationalist groups.

Far-right groups:

ACLED uses this term to refer to a variety of actors, from 'traditional' militias to militant street movements. Though they are also analyzed separately, this figure also accounts for white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups.

White nationalists:

ACLED uses this term to refer to groups that openly describe themselves as white nationalist, white supremacist, or neo-Nazi.

54 events, of which 34 involve white nationalist groups

20 radical groups active, of which 7 are white nationalist

Radical groups were most active in Arizona

White nationalist groups were most active in Ohio and Michigan

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.¹¹ 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.¹² 

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.

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State Spotlight: White nationalist groups in Ohio

On 7 February, armed individuals affiliated with the neo-Nazi organization Hate Club 1488,¹³an offshoot of the Goyim Defense League, waved Swastika flags on a highway overpass in Hamilton, Ohio.¹⁴ During the demonstration, local bystanders confronted the demonstrators, prompting police intervention to separate the groups.¹⁵ 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.

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