Hundreds of people gather Wednesday in the plaza between Maine State House and Cross State Office Building in Augusta to protest the first two weeks of President Trump’s second term in office. “I am very discouraged," said Deb Moore, a protester who drove an hour and a half to speak out about women's rights. "We are both daughters of folks who fought during WWII and we see fascism. I went to bed and woke up in a different country.” Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA — Hundreds of people gathered Wednesday afternoon near the Maine State House in Augusta to protest the first two weeks of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

“I am very discouraged,” Deb Moore, a protester who drove about 90 minutes to speak about women’s rights, said. “We are both daughters of folks who fought during WWII, and we see fascism. I went to bed and woke up in a different country.”

The protest was part of a movement in capital cities across the nation in response to Trump’s executive orders and to Project 2025, a blueprint by the conservative Heritage Foundation for changing American government and society whose contributors have been hired for positions in the Trump administration.

Among other issues, Trump’s orders have taken aim at immigration, transgender Americans, federal diversity programs, climate change and health research.

The Augusta protest was originally co-sponsored by Kennebec County Democrats and a group called Women’s March Augusta, Maine, both of which took out permits for the event. The groups then declined the permits after the event was infiltrated by “bad actors looking to spread hate, misinformation and turmoil.”

One person who had arrived to counter the protest while carrying a boombox and an American flag was escorted away by officers from the Maine Capitol Police.

Otherwise, the event went as planned.

Some protesters said they have concerns about Trump’s attitudes and decisions, including how they affect immigrants, LGBTQ Americans and children.

Protesters said government function has been put in peril because of Trump and Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who has gained unprecedented access to sensitive personal information and government spending contained in U.S. Department of the Treasury records.

Hundreds of protesters gather Wednesday at the Maine State House complex in Augusta after the first two weeks of President Donald Trump’s second term in office. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Decades ago, Moore said, she marched against President Richard M. Nixon and fought for the right of women in the workforce to have day care for their children. She said she sees a repeat of those issues in today’s politics.

“It’s like the 1970s all over again,” Moore said.

Lisa Leaverton of Orland said she was protesting near the State House to encourage government to follow a system of checks and balances, which is intended to ensure that no branch of government is allowed to control too much power.

Leaverton said she had called state representatives over the past week. She also said that after several attempts, she also got through Wednesday to the office of U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District.

“I said: ‘We are not rejecting the GOP president or idea that policy can’t be changed legally. We are rejecting the illegal move to plant people illegally, or that are not vetted, in the government,'” Leaverton said.

Chris Wright of Belfast said many “awful things” have happened since Trump’s return to the Oval Office. Wright said he hoped Wednesday’s protest in Augusta would encourage people to speak up and show up. In his own life, he said, he has taken to writing and trying to make his points in a bipartisan fashion.

“There are a lot of organizations that are out there making life good,” Wright said. “We need to support those, as opposed to the hate going on. That is the saddest thing — the hate that the administration is bringing.”

Echoing other protesters, Moore said her plan is continue speaking out against the Trump administration. She also said she hopes more rights are not taken away from women.

“It’s good to see so many men here,” she said. “It feels like they are abandoning us. My dad would be rolling in his grave to see what is going on right now.”