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A Pennsylvania County and the Political Tensions in America

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A Pennsylvania County and the Political Tensions in America

Luzerne County is one of many counties in Pennsylvania — and across the country — that shifted to the right this year.

We spent two weeks there before and after the election to understand what’s driving these changes.

By Philip Montgomery and Michael Sokolove

Nov. 15, 2024

On the Sunday before the election, the state chapter of Bikers for Trump organized a ride of 100 motorcycles in Luzerne County.

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They planned to travel from just outside Wilkes-Barre to Scranton, President Biden’s hometown, in neighboring Lackawanna County.

This northeast corner of Pennsylvania used to be called coal country.

Today the largest private employers are warehouses, including facilities for Amazon, T.J. Maxx and the pet-supplies retailer Chewy.

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The politics of the area have also shifted.

For two decades its voters reliably leaned Democratic, but Donald Trump won the county in 2016 and again four years later, both times by solid margins.

Dwayne McDavitt, a retired prison guard and a Bikers for Trump leader, is one of the more visible local backers of the former president.

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Before the rally in Scranton, he explained that he doubted the result of the 2020 election because he simply did not believe Trump could have lost fairly: “Tell me how Joe Biden could get 81 million votes.”

But Democrats hoped they could move the county back in their direction and made an intensive effort to do so.

In the weeks ahead of the election, busloads of Democratic canvassers fanned out across Luzerne County.

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Kevin Kraynak, a Luzerne County native, traveled from his home in California to try to get out the vote.

He hit his 100th mile of canvassing in Forty Fort, outside Wilkes-Barre. “I’m going to walk until my legs fall off,” he said.

County officials were vigilant leading up to Election Day. Luzerne County became a hotbed of election denialism in 2020, and Pennsylvania is an open-carry state. Some people feared voters might bring guns to the polls. Election workers were told they could bring their own guns.

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The night before the election, a group of campaign volunteers organized by Jennifer Ziemba, the wife of the Luzerne County Republican Party chairman, gathered at Ziemba’s home in Harveys Lake, a prosperous community outside Wilkes-Barre.

They were calling Republican voters whose mail-in ballots had flaws like a missing date to tell them they had to cast provisional ballots in person.

“We’re not really MAGA-looking,” one of the women said. But they were staunch Trump supporters.

Philip Montgomery for The New York Times

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“The women voting solely on abortion make me crazy,” Ziemba said. “I’d gladly give up my abortion rights and my daughter’s for my son not to have to go to war. We’ll have peace with Trump.”

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Another woman, Lee Ann McDermott, who owns a real estate appraisal business with her husband, John, thinks the economy will improve under Trump. “With the interest rates high, no one was refinancing.”

On Election Day, most of the state’s counties shifted further to the right, tilting Pennsylvania and its 19 Electoral College votes to Trump by about 130,000 voters.

Just over 152,000 total ballots were cast in Luzerne County — about the same as in 2020.

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But Trump increased his margin to 20 points from 14. In only one other Pennsylvania county were Trump’s gains greater.

For Democrats, it was a devastating result.

“This is scary to me,” Constance Wynn said. She had downloaded Project 2025. “I need to understand what he’s planning to do.”

She was sitting in the front parlor of her Wilkes-Barre home, built by her great-great grandfather.

Wynn’s ancestors escaped slavery by fleeing to Pennsylvania before the Civil War.

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The morning after the election, some of the Bikers for Trump gathered to celebrate at D’s Diner, in the Wilkes-Barre suburb of Plains Township.

A man they did not know, a retired financial planner named Kim Pace, approached their table. He began by saying that his wife did not think it was a good idea to talk to them. He had voted for Harris.

“Congratulations, guys,” he said. “I hope it all works out.” His tone suggested that he was doubtful.

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Philip Montgomery for The New York Times

Dave Ragan, a U.S. Army veteran who had arrived on his motorcycle, stood up to respond. “We changed the world!” he said. “I don’t have to worry about my stepdaughter having a boy in the locker room.”

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“Let me tell you something,” Pace said. “That stuff is overblown.” He wished them well and left.

Away from the table, he said, “If Harris had won, there was going to be trouble.”

In the days after the election, political tensions lingered in the community.

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On Thursday evening, John McDermott, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, sat at home with his wife, Lee Ann, drinking a vodka and tonic after a round of golf. McDermott voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Trump in 2020.

This year, he voted for Harris. “I couldn’t bring myself to vote for him,” he said. “He’s a convicted felon. He believes in conspiracy theories.”

Lee Ann, a county council member, saw matters differently: She was one of the women making calls at Jennifer Ziemba’s house on the eve of the election. Now she was on her way to meet some of them at a restaurant to toast Trump’s win.

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The mood was festive when McDermott arrived. “We’re getting Trumpy!” one of the women exclaimed, as they raised their cosmopolitans and glasses of wine.

Philip Montgomery for The New York Times

Among the revelers was Shelley Meuser, the wife of Representative Dan Meuser, whose district includes a part of Luzerne County.

“We got our country back!” shouted Terry Eckert, who is a real estate agent.

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Philip Montgomery for The New York Times

Thirty miles down the road from Wilkes-Barre is Luzerne County’s other city, Hazleton. Its population of 30,000 is 63 percent Latino, an estimated 90 percent of whom are from the Dominican Republic.

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Trump won the city decisively, increasing his share of its vote from 2020 by 7 points — substantially more than the 1.9 points he gained statewide.

The community is generally low-income, churchgoing and conservative.

Adaíris Casado, who was at Ada’s Collection, the local store she owns, said that her religion — and a conviction that Trump shares her values — led her to vote for him. “I’m worried about gay marriage,” she said, “and transgender.”

Fredelina Paredes, a paraprofessional at the nearby high school, was at home the weekend after the election with her three children and husband, who works in a plastics factory.

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She has voted for Democrats in the past, including Hillary Clinton, before voting for Trump twice. One of her brothers, a first-time voter, also voted for Trump. Paredes said the Democrats no longer represent her values, especially on the issue of abortion.

She was upset about the economy, saying she just spent $9.99 for a package of grapes. “For grapes. Can you imagine that?”

Like others in Hazleton, she supported Trump’s immigration policies, including deportation plans. “I feel bad for the ones I’ve known,” she said, “friends who have been here 15 or 20 years. But you were here all that time, why didn’t you try to get your papers?”

There are at least six Catholic churches and many Pentecostal congregations in the community. One of them is the Iglesia Cristiana Agua de Vida Hazleton, where Elizabeth Torrez is the pastor.

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Torrez voted for Trump and made every effort to persuade her parishioners to do the same. It wasn’t difficult, she said.

“He is always talking about God and the Bible,” she said through an interpreter. “He only has God in his mouth.”

She also supported Trump’s immigration policies. There are church members who are undocumented, she said, but she was convinced they would be deported only if they commit crimes.

One of those undocumented members of the congregation is Wadan Fernandez, who has relatives in Hazleton and said he came to the United States about two years ago to start a new life. He has overstayed his tourist visa and has been working in construction and other jobs.

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“I love Mr. Trump,” Fernandez said. “Of course he could send me back at any moment, but if he did, I would still love him.”

Philip Montgomery for The New York Times

Philip Montgomery is a photographer whose work examines the fractured state of America. Michael Sokolove, a contributing writer for the magazine since 2002, has written extensively on Pennsylvania and its politics.

Videos by Tre Cassetta.

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Politics

Everything With Trump’s Signature, Name and Likeness: Currency, Buildings and More

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Everything With Trump’s Signature, Name and Likeness: Currency, Buildings and More

As anyone who has ever seen his buildings knows, Donald Trump has always liked to see his name displayed prominently. It’s become a hallmark of his presidency, to the point that the Treasury Department announced on Thursday that President Trump’s signature will appear on U.S. dollars later this year, a first for a sitting U.S. president.

The move is the latest reflecting a push to imprint his personal brand on Washington and the nation in ways that could outlast his presidency.

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In total, since the start of Mr. Trump’s second term, there have been more than a dozen instances of his name, image or signature emblazoned on a variety of American initiatives and institutions. Some changes seem as if they could be lasting, some are caught up in the courts, and others may never get off the ground.

Here is a look at that ever-growing list.

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Already approved uses

Joseph Eid/AFP via Getty Images, Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

Mr. Trump’s signature is set to appear on U.S. dollars later this year. It is not clear whether his signature will appear on all currency notes.
Commemorative “Trump” coins

U.S. Treasury

The administration is planning to feature Mr. Trump’s face on multiple coins to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary. The move is legally dubious. It’s also rare. Few people have made it onto U.S. currency while still alive.
Trump-Kennedy Center

Eric Lee/The New York Times

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Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace

Eric Lee/The New York Times

Trump Gold Card

Trump Card

The administration officially rolled out the program in December but first previewed the name in February 2025. At that Oval Office meeting discussing the program, Mr. Trump said he was willing to lend his name “for free.”
TrumpRx

TrumpRX

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who runs Medicare and Medicaid, has said that Mr. Trump was not involved in picking the name. “We thought it had a catchy element to it,” he said.

Trump Accounts

Trump Accounts

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House Republicans abruptly changed the name from “MAGA Accounts” before passing their wide-ranging domestic policy bill last year. Mr. Trump has said the name was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s idea.
National parks pass

Department of Interior, via Center for Biological Diversity

“Trump class” warships

U.S. Navy

F-47 warplanes

U.S. Air Force

Proposed uses

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President Donald J. Trump International Airport

Johnny Milano/The New York Times

Pennsylvania Station

Todd Heisler/The New York Times

The Trump administration unsuccessfully pressured Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, to rename New York’s Penn Station for him, offering in return to release billions of dollars he had frozen in federal infrastructure funding.
Washington Dulles International Airport

Shawn Thew/EPA, via Shutterstock

In that same pressure campaign, the Trump administration pushed Mr. Schumer to rename Dulles Airport. That wasn’t successful either but still seems to be of interest to the president.
NFL Washington Commanders stadium

Washington Commanders

Administration officials have discussed Mr. Trump’s desire for the new stadium to be named after him. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it would be a “beautiful name,” as he enabled the stadium’s construction. But the legislation that kicked off the redevelopment process was signed before he took office.
“Trump” Rushmore

Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

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$100 bill

Joseph Eid/AFP via Getty Images

Early in Mr. Trump’s second term, House Republicans introduced several bills that sought to expand his likeness on a number of things, such as a $100 bill and a new $250 bill. Those proposals haven’t gained traction.
“Trump Train”

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In an effort to copy the deep-cutting tactics of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, this bill sought to pare $150 million in annual funding from the Washington, D.C. Metro system unless it renamed itself to honor Mr. Trump. Like the other House bills on this list it has gone nowhere.

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Jeffries declines to break with indicted Democrat after ethics panel’s guilty verdict

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Jeffries declines to break with indicted Democrat after ethics panel’s guilty verdict

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers found Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., guilty of more than two dozen ethics violations, but House Democratic leadership is standing by their embattled colleague.

“As I understand it, the Ethics Committee has one final step in their process, so I’m not going to get out ahead of the Ethics Committee process that will be completed upon our return,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Friday morning. “And then I’ll have more to say.”

House Democratic Conference Chairman Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., also told Punchbowl News on Friday that he had not seen the ethics panel’s findings, but added “that doesn’t sound good” when told the body determined that she committed 25 ethics violations. Those charges include money laundering, making false statements on campaign finance reports and seeking special favors from entities receiving federal funding. 

INDICTED DEMOCRAT REP. SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK ONE STEP CLOSER TO EXPULSION

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An eight-member House Ethics investigative subcommittee determined Friday that Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., committed 25 House ethics violations, which could lead to her potential expulsion from the House of Representatives. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The Florida Democrat is facing a separate federal criminal indictment that could result in more than five decades in prison if convicted. Cherfilus-McCormick, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of illegally transferring millions in disaster relief funds improperly paid to her family’s healthcare company to finance her run for Congress and the purchase of luxury items, including a massive diamond ring.

The House Ethics Committee said it would announce its recommended punishment for Cherfilus-McCormick in April, which could be as severe as expulsion. Under House rules, a two-thirds majority would have to support the resolution to formally remove the Florida Democrat from the chamber.

Jeffries’ refusal so far to condemn Cherfilus-McCormick’s conduct mirrors the relative silence of the Democratic caucus, though some rank-and-file members are beginning to break their silence on the Florida Democrat.

Moderate Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., was the first Democratic lawmaker to publicly issue a statement Friday calling on Cherfilus-McCormick to resign or be removed following the guilty verdict.

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“You can’t crime your way into legitimate power,” Gluesenkamp Perez wrote. “Since she was found guilty, she should resign or be removed.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. has so far refused to condemn Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McComrick, an indicted lawmaker facing a looming expulsion threat. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

HOUSE DEMOCRAT ACCUSES FELLOW DEM OF VIOLATING A ‘FREE AND FAIR ELECTION’ IN STUNNING PUBLIC MOVE

A handful of other congressional Democrats said Friday that they would consider backing an expulsion resolution if the indicted lawmaker did not leave on her own terms.

A Jeffries spokeperson did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Despite the looming expulsion threat, Cherfilus-McCormick has given no indication that she will resign. She is also running for a fourth term in November’s midterm elections.

“I look forward to proving my innocence,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement Friday. “Until then, my focus remains where it belongs: showing up for the great people of Florida’s 20th District who sent me to Washington to fight for them.”

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., was the first congressional Democrat to call for Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick to resign or be removed following the conclusion of a rare House ethics hearing. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), House Republicans’ campaign arm, ripped congressional Democrats’ lack of outrage over Cherfilus-McCormick’s conduct.

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“The Ethics Committee just confirmed that Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick broke the rules, and House Democrats are still saying nothing,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said Friday. “Their silence is a choice. Democrats can stand for accountability or keep protecting a proven ethics violator, but voters won’t forget it.”

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Millions are expected to protest Trump during Saturday’s ‘No Kings’ rallies

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Millions are expected to protest Trump during Saturday’s ‘No Kings’ rallies

A rolling wave of “No Kings” protests swelled through America’s small towns and big cities Saturday, with crowds gathering to blast President Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdowns, the war in Iran and high gas and food prices.

Saturday’s demonstrations were expected to draw millions of people nationwide, including thousands for a downtown Los Angeles rally. More than 40 protests were planned for L.A., Orange and Ventura counties, part of the national “No Kings Day of Nonviolent Action.”

No Kings Coalition organizers were hoping that turnout for the rallies in all 50 states could combine to form the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. They pointed to growing anger over the country’s direction, including fatal ICE shootings and troops dispatched to the Middle East, since the first “No Kings” demonstration was held last June.

On Saturday morning, hundreds gathered around the reflecting pool at Pasadena City College. A band rolled through with a fascism-themed parody of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.” Sign-toting protesters lined Colorado Boulevard, drawing a constant stream of honking from the cars driving by. For many, the Iran war was top of mind.

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“Every time we protest, there’s something completely new, which speaks to the chaos of the Trump administration,” Cindy Campbell told The Times. “ICE raids last year, Epstein files a few months ago. Now, war.”

“This administration doesn’t serve us. It serves billionaires,” said Kent Miller, of Monrovia, who participated in the Pasadena protest. “War with Iran is only making life harder for working people.”

Miller pointed to a Chevron gas station advertising gas for $6.45 per gallon.

“See?” he said.

National coordinators said there has been increased interest in smaller communities, including Republican bastions, with higher-than-expected attendance during Saturday’s protests.

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“I’m out here because I’m disgusted with what I’m seeing,” said Kersty Kinsey, a mother who was protesting near the Beaufort, S.C., City Hall. “People are suffering, and he’s playing golf. People are suffering, and he’s going other places and blowing things up.”

In Beaufort, an antebellum city founded in 1711, an estimated 3,000 people turned out — a marked increase over earlier “No Kings” rallies, said Barb Nash, one of the coordinators. Amid the moss-draped live oaks and blooming pink and white azaleas, a person in a purple Barney dinosaur costume held a sign reading: “Dino’s for Democracy.” A young girl handed out homemade “Resistance Cookies.”

Los Angeles coordinators said they expect more than 100,000 people at the local events, which were being planned for Beverly Hills, Burbank, West Covina, West Hollywood and Thousand Oaks. One group planned a “Road Outrage” car caravan to motor through Mid City with flapping flags calling for “No War,” and “ICE Out of LA.” At a Torrance gathering, cars honked, protesters waved flags, and a person in an inflatable green cow costume hoisted a large American flag.

The White House, in a Saturday statement, dismissed the protests as a “Trump Derangement Therapy Session.”

Organizers said they have been particularly encouraged by the surge of interest from groups in rural communities that wanted to join the loose-knit No Kings Coalition and hold protests.

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Jaynie Parrish, founder of the Arizona Native Vote project, started planning a protest for her tiny town of Kayenta, on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona, only earlier this week.

“My dad, who’s a [military] veteran and an elder, said: ‘We should go,’ and I said, ‘OK,’” Parrish told The Times.

“Our folks don’t always protest for things, but this was very important,” Parrish said. “A lot of our families are feeling the impacts right now of higher prices and things being cut. A lot of our healthcare benefits are being cut … and our tribal sovereignty is being threatened.”

Upbeat Midwestern activists withstood whipping winds to form a line of protesters stretching nearly three blocks of Burlington Avenue in Hastings, Neb. Under the crisp blue skies, one of the protesters, Drew Fausett, told The Times in a phone interview that he is a registered Republican in the decidedly red state.

“My politics haven’t really changed — but the party around me has,” Fausett said. “It used to be the two parties were two sides of the same coin, and they would work together — but not anymore.”

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He and his wife, Becky, have attended “No Kings” and other protests because “it’s the only way to show that people have different opinions,” he said. “People are out here speaking for their families and their neighbors. That’s what this is all about.”

Trump’s policies are hurting many in Nebraska — including farmers, said Debby Thompson, one of the Hastings organizers.

“We want to urge our representatives in Congress to not just rubber stamp whatever Trump wants because it’s really hurting rural folks and farmers,” Thompson said. “The tariffs and huge increase in prices on fertilizer are hitting farmers really hard.”

The “No Kings” campaign sprouted in June as an act of defiance on Trump’s 79th birthday. He wanted a military parade in Washington to mark his milestone, and anti-Trump protesters came out in force — an estimated 5 million people around the country — with their own display. At the time, Trump’s second-term policies were coming into focus, including ramping up immigration raids, deploying the National Guard to L.A. in response to protests, and mass firings within the federal government.

A subsequent event in mid-October drew even larger crowds, with an estimated 7 million people protesting around the country.

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Saturday’s event coincided with a dip in Trump’s approval ratings. A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week found 36% approve of Trump’s job performance, marking the lowest level since his return to office last year. In a separate Fox News Poll released last week, 59% disapproved of his job performance.

“Since the last ‘No Kings,’ we’re seeing higher gas prices and groceries, all while there’s an illegal war in Iran,” national organizer Sarah Parker of the organization 50501 said during a Thursday press briefing. “We’ve also seen our neighbors executed — American citizens executed.”

Widespread protests and candlelight vigils followed January’s fatal shootings by ICE agents in Minneapolis of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse.

“The defining story of this Saturday’s mobilization is not just how many people are protesting — but where they are protesting,” Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, said during the press briefing. She said two-thirds of the RSVPs to national organizers came from outside of major urban centers.

The Los Angeles event was organized by the local chapter of 50501 (short for “50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement”) and other progressive groups, including the ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible and Public Citizen, as well as labor unions such as Unite Here Local 11 and the Service Workers International Union.

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“There’s an affordability crisis in this country — people can’t afford groceries or healthcare,” Joseph Bryant, SEIU executive vice president, said in a statement. “But this administration is focused on expanding its power, starting unnecessary wars that benefit billionaires, and targeting immigrants and citizens who dare to stand up for them.”

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