Alabamians against Trump administration policies and the role of Elon Musk in reshaping the government rallied in cities across the state Saturday as part of coordinated nationwide protests through a grassroots group called Indivisible.

“When our communities rise up together, we can topple tyrants and destroy dictators,” Angelica McCain, state organizer for the Indivisible group 50501 told a crowd at Railroad Park in Birmingham Saturday.

Protestors at Railroad Park wore T-shirts and carried signs with sayings like “Make lying wrong again,” “Deport Musk,” “Hands off our Democracy” and “Girl, you should run for office more.” State Reps. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, and Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, spoke to the crowd over a loudspeaker.

Rep. Givan told the crowd that President Trump is slashing federal jobs to make Musk the first trillionaire in history. She said the future of Medicaid, Social Security and a woman’s right to choose must be fought for by grassroots efforts.

“We must continue the good fight. We must stay united. We must keep marching. We must keep screaming. We must keep fighting.”

Jeremy Bagley, 44, of Irondale, said he attended the rally because he is a part of the LGBTQ community, and he is afraid his rights will be taken. He works in higher education and used to work in health care, he said.

“I hope that this opens a door for more people to know that it’s OK to stand up for what you believe in,” he said of the rally.

Bob Greene, 81, Birmingham, said he is an unreconstructed liberal hippie who marched for civil rights and against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 70s. He said he is most worried about recent federal cuts to health care for people who need it most.

“I think there’s been a certain amount of discouragement after the last election, but certainly the way the economy is tanking right now, it ought to bring a lot of folks out onto the street,” he said when asked whether he thought the administration’s grassroots progressive opponents would continue to take action.

In Florence, protesters gathered downtown at Wilson Park Saturday as a part of the nationwide event.

Amanda Gautney, a mom of two teenagers, said she was protesting anti-LGBTQ policies and attacks on diversity.

“We’re in 2025 and we’re going backward,” she said.

Gautney began to cry as she spoke about her friends and neighbors who are LGBTQ.

“It breaks my heart to see them getting treated differently than me.”

Errol Van Stralen, an Air Force veteran who attended the protest in Florence said he fears he will lose health care as a veteran.

He said he does not believe “wholesale, random cuts” by the Trump administration are helping with corruption. “The only corruption is in the White House,” he said.

Melody Bresett, a Florence resident attending her first-ever protest said she was raised more conservative but is protesting Trump because she thinks his policies will only help the richest people, the 1 percent.

“As a mom, as a human being, it’s hard to sit by and watch that happen,” she said.

Two friends of 70 years who live on the East and West coasts met up in Birmingham this weekend for the wedding of one of their nieces. They decided to attend the rally in Railroad Park.

One of the friends, Sharon Lockwood, 84, a retired economics professor who lives in Washington, D.C., said she found the rally inspiring, especially in a conservative state.

“It’s inspiring that people have the courage to go against the norm because it takes courage, and we’re going to need a lot of courage.”