Big turnouts for Presidents’ Day protests in Fort Bragg, Ukiah, nationwide

MENDOCINO CO., 2/18/25 — A grassroots activist group whose web page claims it started with a Reddit post was behind nationwide protests that drew one of the biggest Town Hall protest rallies in memory to Fort Bragg as well as another in Ukiah. 

“Not My Presidents’ Day” protests drew big crowds across the nation, with media accounts from coast to coast, including in the Deep South. Northern locales with temperatures hovering below zero even had big turnouts, according to online news accounts. The targets of the protests were Elon Musk, head of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the world’s wealthiest man, and President Donald Trump.

In Fort Bragg, crowds lined both sides of Main Street (State Route 1), centering on Town Hall and extending at least half a block north and south on both sides of the street. The group that the New York Times credits as being the organizer of the event is called 50501. The numbers stand for “50 protests, 50 states, 1 message.” On the group’s website, there are no names of people who formed the group or run it. When the NYT interviewed an organizer, that person used a made-up name. This reporter sent an email to the “press contact” link found on the 50501 website, but so far there has been no return email. No other contact method is given.

In the Fort Bragg protest, there were two overriding messages: “Not My Presidents’ Day” and the word six people standing side by side spelled out on six placards: R-E-S-I-S-T.

With the uncommonly warm February weather and sunshine, the protests were jovial, with more laughing and cheering than anger. Several people said they were glad to be able to express themselves. But few, even those quoted in past years, wanted to be named in a news story that would get wide circulation.

Bob Dominy of Mendocino, who was taking photos alongside this reporter, had no qualms.

“I was really pleased with the turnout and energy at the protest— looking down Main and seeing signs spanning nearly a block was impressive,” said Dominy.

“For me personally, it was good to see that people really recognize the seriousness of what’s going on right now. I was surprised at the lack of counter-protesting aside from a handful of white guys in trucks flipping the participants off as they drove by,” he added. But social media, as it often is, was full of angry people. Commenting on a photo of a woman carrying a sign that read, “You Fascists are bound to lose,” a man posted “The fascists have already lost and your president is making sure that not only do they stay down but that they will answer for their crimes as well” to a Mendocino Coast Facebook page.

Signs ranged from “Happy Presidents’ Day” to President Muskrat,” to “Stop the coup” to “No dictators” to “Americans against the oligarchy.”

A big box truck blasted its horn as it drove through town, joining the cacophony of car horns. While honking was steady, usually about one out of seven cars would honk support. 

A Donald Trump doll was put in the road by a group of protesters on the north side of Main Street at Laurel. Protesters encouraged people to run over the doll. 

One woman said the sight of the doll going under the tires made her queasy, but she understood the frustration. 

“I thought the doll usage was both humorous and rooted in years of protests where people bring effigies and make far worse examples of them than what happened here,” said Dominy. 

“If people are getting worked up about the doll, they’re in for a rough ride. I was thinking a replica French guillotine would invoke some historical perspective,” he added.

He noted the truck belonging to a conservative local business owner running over the doll, and the driver signaling to the cheering crowd. 

The doll would be put under the tire of a car at the light, then cheers would erupt each time the doll was run over. Some drivers apparently ran over it intentionally, while others dodged around it. Many clearly had no idea what was in the road. There was much more exuberance than anger throughout the event, but the joviality was intense, especially around the doll.

This reporter asked Fort Bragg Police Chief Neil Cervenka for his perspective.

Cervenka said there had been no complaints about the doll, and he had no comment on the use of the doll, other than to say protests were 1st Amendment-protected free speech.

Katherine Fengler was an organizer of the Fort Bragg event.

“Yes, the 50501 movement was the initiator of all the protests nationwide,” she affirmed. “There was a rally being planned in Ukiah, where I used to live, but I couldn’t find anything happening on the coast. I was surprised because I know there are lots of activists here. I’m not yet that connected here, but I thought we should have a protest in our community,” Fengler said.

On Thursday, Feb. 13, she made a political flier on her computer, something she had not done before. She sent it out to the people she knew.

 “I made many signs, for people who couldn’t make their own. And so many people showed up! It was totally energizing! Yay for our community standing up to lies, hate and greed,” she said.