Coloradans have poured out by the thousands protest President Donal Trump and his administration's controversial policy changes since Trump office in January, including aggressive deportations, executive orders targeting transgender people and mass federal firings. That culminated on Friday, March 21, when more than 34,000 people showed up to Civic Center Park to listen to Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talk about how to take action.
But before the city-stopping visit by the Sanders and AOC, weekly — and sometimes daily — protests started in Denver soon after the Fifty State protests took place nationwide on February 5.
Initially a rally against Project 2025, the Fifty State Protests coalesced nationally without a single group in the lead, but online flyers and social media posts spread like wildfire in the weeks after Trump's January 20 inauguration. In Denver, the national event brought out more than 5,000 people to rally at the Colorado Capitol for immigrant rights, upholding the constitution and protecting the LGBTQ+ community.
The day of national protests amounted to around eight different rallies in all fifty states, and led to the founding of the 50501 Movement, a national group that continues to put out calls on social media to protest across the country. Building on its online and grassroots nature, the 50501 Movement preaches decentralization, or not putting all the power and representation in the hands of one person.
Colorado's new 50501 group is following a similar path.
"It's very important to harness the energy right now, and get people involved," says Caitlyn Sullivan, one of the organizers at the heart of 50501 Colorado. "We're supporting local activism to make things actionable, make sure people are aware of certain legislation, of candidates. Let's get people educated and harness that energy to get people into local activism."
In Denver, the first call to action for the Fifty State Protest spurred the creation of the Common Ground People's Collective, which organized the protest at the State Capitol on February 5 and in two other protests affiliated with the 50501 Movement: a protest at the State Capitol on Presidents' Day that drew over 2,000 people, and "No King's Day" rally on March 4 that drew several hundred attendees.
But in the last few weeks, 50501 Colorado has emerged to carry the 50501 banner for the Centennial State and will start coordinating protests with the 50501 Movement. The group already led a protest on March 15 and is planning another coming on April 5.
50501 Colorado came together through the work of the four Denver women: Jennifer Bradley, Tori Searles, Kacie Riordan and Sullivan. They now talk on a regular basis with national 50501 Movement organizers to coordinate affiliated protests in Colorado as other state branches do the same.
Mostly through the messaging app Discord, the national 50501 Movement informs the Colorado branch of national trends, offers resources for planning protests, and helps fuel collaboration with other movements, according to Searles.
"Everyone I have worked with from national is very busy, but they have a great perspective and will do their best to help and provide support and resources," she says.
Bradley, Searles, Riordan and Sullivan came together after attending the Fifty State protest and then trying to get involved in organizing future protests. "Everyone I have worked with from national is very busy, but they have a great perspective and will do their best to help and provide support and resources," she says.
"After the first protest, we felt, 'I could help, I could bring something to this,'" Sullivan says. "And we found each other through Discord, through Reddit. ...I feel like we were all brought together by a similar algorithm."
The four have backgrounds ranging from photography to software engineering, but none of them had organized protests before starting 50501 Colorado (which is also the case for the women leading the Common Ground People's Collective, the People's March and r/DenverProtests along with other new activists groups).
The goal of 50501 Colorado is to foster more peaceful activism in the state, according to the four women.
"Our values are non-violence, peaceful resolution. We're really adamant that we maintain that standard," Bradley says. "What we do is we support local advocacy, people who don't have a voice but are ready to get in."
Although the group describes themselves as flying "the 50501 banner," it's still not an officially organized chapter; nor do they rely on any fundraising. The new crop of Denver activist groups, including 50501 Colorado and the Common Ground People's Collective, prefer a decentralized set up with no single person in charge. For them, the loose structure is part of keeping the power with the people.
"It just creates this deeper well of leadership," Searles explains. "If one of us can't be there, someone else can step in, because it's not a hierarchy where everyone relies on the person at the top."
"It just creates this deeper well of leadership," Searles explains. "If one of us can't be there, someone else can step in, because it's not a hierarchy where everyone relies on the person at the top."
The group has attracted more than 2,800 followers to its Facebook page, 3,100 followers to Blue Sky and just under 1,000 followers on Instagram so far. The women also rely on r/DenverProtests for sharing upcoming events and finding help.
Along with the four co-founders, about fifteen to twenty people actively help 50501 Colorado organize protests, according to Searles.
"There are people that are like, 'I'll come and bring water,' and that's worthy of recognition," she says. "Or, 'I don't show up to protests because they're too overstimulating, but I'm going to online organize, I'm going to send out emails, I'm going to call people.' So it's not even just about protesting."
For Riordan, "it helps quell anxiety."
"It's nice to put my energy into things or help facilitate something or do what I can to make people's voices heard, because they're feeling as anxious as I am," Riordan says.
The first and only protest that 50501 Colorado organized took place on March 15 at the State Capitol and brought out about 200 people, according to Colorado State Patrol estimates. The protest was in response to a call for action by the national 50501 Movement, and the local 50501 Colorado group organized both the rally at the Capitol west steps and a short march that they say brought out more than the estimated 200 people.
50501 Colorado also reaches out to other groups planning protests that align with their values and offers to lend an organizing hand.
"We can offer sounds, we can offer safety marshals, we can offer a tabling, speakers," Searles says. "'Can we help you amplify your voice, help make this protest safe and non-violent and a joy for everyone that participates?' We're trying to be like a resource and service center for other people, as well, because the point is to get as many people in the streets and in this space as possible. "
Since February 5, the experience of attending and organizing protests where hundreds or thousands of people join has been a mix of stress and excitement for the group.
"For me, it's been a sense of joy that I haven't experienced in a very long time," Bradley says. "A lot of people are lost and confused, and they don't know what to do. For me, it's been immense, immense joy."
Searles adds that "there's excitement, there's stress, there's energy, there's motivation."
Sullivan says that she gets "a sense of community" out of the job. Riordan says that it's better than "sitting around feeling angry, scared and upset" and she feels like she's channeling those emotions into action.
50501 Colorado is taking the lead on planning an upcoming protest on April 5, which is a response to the national movement's call to “Remove corrupt politicians from office. Reverse the damage. Reclaim our democracy,” according to online flyers. The national group and the Women's March are also calling it "People's Veto Day" online.
