Thousands gathered at the Texas Capitol’s south lawn Saturday, protesting President Donald Trump’s administration on international women’s day.
The Travis County Democratic Party, who organized the rally, were joined by Austin Reps. Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett, as well as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Organizers and protesters alike spoke out against Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration, wherein Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has fired thousands of federal workers.
“We’re here today to show Elon and Donald — we do not bow down,” Warren said in her address to the crowd.
The rally was organized to protect democracy and women’s rights, as well as protest Project 2025, Pooja Sethi, chair of the Travis County Democratic Party, said in an interview with TSTV News.
In public addresses, organizers called upon attendees to vote in the upcoming 2026 midterm election to tip the House of Representatives in the Democratic Party’s favor. Volunteer deputy registrars were also present at the rally to register attendees to vote.
“Nobody came out here and voted and said, ‘we want Elon Musk and other billionaires to take taxpayer money to fire veterans and steal their salaries for themselves,’” Casar said in an interview with TSTV News.
Casar added that college students are among the groups that will be most affected by Trump’s policies and that the future relies on young voters recognizing the threat misinformation poses to democracy.
Valerie Ferguson, a global policy studies graduate student, said she attended the rally after feeling like many Americans rights, such as social security, immigration and education, are being abridged.
“Everything I feel like is being taken away from us,” Ferguson said. “Without these things, we will not be able to prosper as a nation.”
Ferguson added that comments Trump made on Truth social regarding “illegal” protests on college campuses set a dangerous precedent for the nation’s first amendment rights.
Students have been at the forefront of major change throughout American history, Ferguson said, recalling the 1970 protests at Ohio’s Kent State University, wherein four students were killed by the state’s national guard while protesting against the Vietnam War.
Ferguson said students will have to keep up the pressure by rallying and voting until elected officials can ensure their rights are upheld.
“It was reassuring to hear from Doggett and Warren, but whenever they were telling us that we (the constituents) needed to do more, I got a little confused,” Ferguson said. “I hate to say it, I’m not pessimistic, but I feel like us, (the constituents), those in Congress, in the House, in the Senate, we all need to be doing more.”
