A protester holds up a hand-lettered sign saying, “Not shocked nor awed by Project 2025 and coup attempt. We love good government and democracy for all” during a rally Wednesday, Feb. 5, in front of the Jackson County Judicial Center in Brownstown.
Local residents who believe many actions by the new federal administration are illegal and/or unconstitutional organized the event to coincide with the nationwide “50 States, 50 Capitols” protest held at the same time at the statehouse in Indianapolis.
Members of the group noted that many of the executive orders issued by the new administration were taken directly from the Project 2025 document written by the far right-wing Heritage Foundation. They noted that any such order which contradicts an existing law or the Constitution is unenforceable, and many are already facing legal challenges.
A group of Jackson County residents, wishing to participate in the nationwide protest “50 States, 50 Capitols” but unable to attend the Indiana event in Indianapolis,” gathered at noon last Wednesday in front of the Jackson County Judicial Center in Brownstown.
“We wanted to express our objections to reports that an unelected private citizen who has no official role in the federal government and no security clearance has been allowed to take over United States government agencies,” a spokesperson said.
According to national news reports, the world’s wealthiest man, Elon Musk, and his aides have invaded the U.S. Treasury, USAID and other government entities from which he has been downloading personal information of government workers as well as American citizens served by those agencies.
The accessed information could give him an unfair advantage over competitors and could compromise national security, according to authorities.
Musk, a South African native, owns companies which receive millions of dollars annually from federal contracts, and he contributed millions to the 2024 campaign of the current president.
Musk is the father of 12 children and has an adult transgender daughter. The South African immigrant previously said his daughter was “not a girl” and described her as figuratively “dead,” according to NBC News.
In the few weeks Trump has held the office, he has signed a record-breaking number of executive orders, targeting everything from immigration raids in schools and churches to transgender athletes and military members. Such actions spurred the #50501 gathering, which stands for 50 protests in 50 states on one day, a movement organized across social media platforms.
About 200 people protested outside of the Capital in Indianapolis on Wednesday. Thousands protested nationwide outside other state capitols.
The Jackson County group also objects to the implementation of Project 2025, a plan to take over government at various levels in the United States. Many of the executive orders issued by the new president are taken verbatim from the Project 2025 document written by members of the far rightwing Heritage Foundation.
The local group pointed out that such orders are not “laws.” Only Congress can pass laws, and any executive order that contradicts an existing law or the U.S. Constitution cannot be enforced. Many of those orders are already facing legal challenges in the courts.
“We are neither shocked nor awed by Project 2025 and this coup attempt,” the spokesperson said. “We support responsible government and democracy for all Americans, especially ordinary hard-working citizens, and not just for the extremely wealthy.”
(The Indiana Capital Chronicle contributed to this story.)