Protests against President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, have been the subject of nationwide coordinated effort. A movement called “50501” has taken credit.
50501 stands for "50 Protests, 50 States,1 Movement" and it was launched on the social media platform Reddit.
I’ve spent time culling through the thread for 50501 on Reddit and found it to be rather depressing. These people literally believe Trump and Musk are trying to be "Kings."
Here’s a quick look at of some of the posts in the 50501 Reddit thread, one of which had a North Carolina tag and asked what the F*** we’re actually doing.
Since its launch, 50501 has stood up a website that is a hub for locating and announcing protests. A WHOIS lookup shows the site was registered anonymously on Feb. 2, 2025, by "NameCheap, Inc."
A related group, called “Build the Resistance” is linked in some of the 50501 materials. Domain lookup tools show Build the Resistance (BTR) was registered anonymously on Jan. 29, 2025, at Squarespace Domains LLC with all contact info listed in "D.C."
"This is a hub for any current and future actions relating to resistance against the Trump administration and wealthy elites’ ripping apart our democratic institutions and civil liberties while undermining the rule of law,” BTR’s website states.
Under BTR’s "Who are we" section, they state they are “not an organization,” but are “first and foremost, a call to action,” as a “resource hub and movement megaphone…”
BTR is filled with specific calls-to-action, including protests; “Build” hosts toolkits, databases, guides, and trainings.
“Our volume is designed to drown out the doom, despair, and isolation that feeds fascism,” the BTR site says.
More To The Story
The most recent set of protests under 50501 in North Carolina took place on Mar. 4 at a Tesla dealership on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh.
After a little digging through mainly garbage postings on Reddit, I found out the protest was coordinated by the Durham Democrats and "Durhamites for Democracy."
Following the above post, I found the “Engaged Durhamites for Democracy” Substack account, which claims to be a “grassroots” organization, yet there are no other details, website, or individuals identified as members or staff.
The NC Secretary of State does not have such an organization officially registered. Draw your own conclusions on who runs it.
I also located the event page created by the Durham Democrats.
The Durham Democrats' Substack post for the Mar. 4 protest tells readers to follow "Ariella Elm" on Substack for up to date information.
Elm’s Substack profile is below, but there’s not a lot of information about who she actually is beyond her social media platform activity. Based on her number of followers and reports like this one, she appears to be a TikTok influencer.
The Durham Democrats post also mentions top NC Democrats to follow for “up to the minute actions,” including the NCDP chair and Wake County Rep. Julie von Hafen.
"You can also follow @durhamdems on IG for up to the minute actions. A few other accounts we like on IG are @bullcityindivisible, @ncdemocrats, @carolinaforward, Anderson Clayton (@andibreeze), @juliefornc @katebarrcantwin and @momsfornc"
According to WRAL, "over a 100" people came out to the protest. In their report, WRAL quotes “demonstrator” Karen Ziegler.
"I hate what [Musk] is doing," said Karen Ziegler, a demonstrator at the protest. "He's taking a sledgehammer to our government and our personal information."
A quick look at Ziegler shows she's 71 years old and a Poor People's Campaign protest regular; she was one of eight arrested for protesting at the legislature during one of the group's staged demonstrations in June 2024.
Ziegler is a retired nurse who became a gay minister and at one was time on the board of the Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South.
Her bio in a 2018 Duke Kenan Institute for Ethic profile touts her “weekly” protests outside NC Sen. Thom Tillis’ office in Raleigh.
Are there upcoming North Carolina 50501 events? Well, I didn’t find any additional listings for March, but these events seem to pop up within hours or days before a protest actually occurs.
Another website the Reddit 50501 thread links to for event listings is called “Political Revolution.”
I checked this site as well. It’s search function is very hard to use and has no reset ability. I did find another protest that also happened on Mar. 4, the “People’s Picnic: Sit to Resist.”
“Join us as 50501-NC hosts The People’s Picnic: Sit to Resist!. To inspire and unite us in the fight for justice against the current administration's actions, this peaceful gathering will feature powerful speeches from members of the community, collaborative art and writing stations, and lively music,” the event post reads. “Bring a picnic and a blanket as we come together to peacefully resist and create community with each other.”
The event creator is listed as “Dawn,” with a handle “@dawnmarionwood.” Her post included a downloadable event details document, which I grabbed and can be accessed here.