More than 500 protest Trump administration at Pennsylvania Capitol building

About 500 people braved a stiff wind chill in the low 20s on the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol Feb. 17. 2025 in Harrisburg to protest the Trump administration’s actions since inauguration less than one month ago.

The organization 50501 Movement responsible for the event is striving to organize regional protests across the 50 states all on the same day.

The 50501 Harrisburg chapter describes its most recent protest on Feb 7. as a “decentralized rapid response to the anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic elites.”

Hank Smeltzer, of Lower Windsor Township, holding a sign “Focus on the problems” said that the recent administration executive orders are a distraction to what he believes is actually going on. 

I “couldn’t just sit home and do nothing,” Smeltzer said. “This is probably the single most important cause in our lifetimes. Everybody who cares about democracy and patriotism, as it truly is, is on their back heels right now, so we have to recover from this and we gotta to fight. When the courts are the first line of defense, if they’re overwhelmed, (then) it’s the people. After that, it’s the military and we all know what happens when it comes to that.”

A large group of protesters marched from City Island to the Capitol complex chanting along the way, meeting with another group on the steps. There were no counter-protesters at the demonstration.