VoxPopuli: Were you shocked, was the group shocked, about the executive orders that Trump rolled out after the election? Or had you anticipated it?

Jude Speegle: Well, Project 2025 was available online for a few years, and if you’re in the local activist community, you probably knew about it. But that doesn’t change the surprise and the feeling of the impact of it. So expecting it and experiencing it are two different things. 

VoxPopuli: Did you anticipate how quickly the layoffs happened? I think people are reeling from that. 

Speegle:  I was definitely surprised by how fast everything happened. Because I remember telling people, Well, it's not going to happen overnight. And then it kind of did. 

VoxPopuli: The resistance movement is called 50501. What do the numbers mean? 

Speegle:  It means 50 states, 50 protests, one movement  So we would have a protest at every state capital all around the same time, on the same day.

VoxPopuli: How did the movement start?

Speegle: It began on Reddit and then it evolved on Discord and  then it just kind of blew up. And now it has national partners with other organizations to help facilitate and get people started. There’s a Protest 101 Kit now.

VoxPopuli: So if someone in, say, Ocoee, wanted to start their own 50501 group, this is meant to facilitate that?

Speegle: Yeah, exactly that. It’s about We the people and getting everyone involved. We have three main values, which are commitment to inclusivity, a commitment to nonviolence, and a commitment to conflict resolution. We want everyone to be able to feel respected and have their voice heard. Safety is paramount so that people can feel welcome.

VoxPopuli: What do you hope to accomplish with Tuesday’s protest?

 Speegle: It is meant to be a peaceful protest with actionable items to get people involved. The idea is some people have never gone to a protest. Maybe some people don't even vote or maybe someone is switching who they're voting for. Everybody is welcome to come and there will be different groups disseminating information about their organizations to help get local people involved.

I went to an Orange County Dems [Democrats] town hall the other day and met with some people who said they came to the protest on the 17th, on Presidents Day, and that's why they were at the town hall too because the protest got them involved locally. The goal overall is to get people involved in their communities.

VoxPopuli: What are you hearing from people? The ones who’ve never been involved before, what are you hearing from them?

Speegle:  They didn't know or understand that the people that they loved or themselves were going to end up hurt, and they want to fight against that.

VoxPopuli: Did they vote for Republicans? Are they surprised their votes enabled this situation? 

Speegle:  I have heard that from people as well, yes. Specifically someone was like, I have a lot of transgender friends, I didn't know that overnight [they] would be attacking the transgender community like that. Like I said earlier, Project 2025 was around and accessible online, but that doesn't mean that everybody in the whole country is paying attention to that kind of thing. We all have our daily lives that we need to take care of, kids, jobs to go to. It's understandable that some people might not have realized the impact. But they're realizing now. And they want to change things. That's why they're coming out.

VoxPopuli: I’ve seen  two arguments online. The You've made your bed, lie in it argument. And the Welcome everyone who wants to fight because you need everyone argument.

Speegle: We all need to gather together to fight against fascism. On a personal level right now, it doesn't matter who you voted for if you're ready to change things now because we don't have time to be arguing and pointing fingers. 

VoxPopuli: Do you have any thoughts on why the resistance was slow to respond compared to 2016 when there were huge marches? 

Speegle:  I believe it's because people are tired. A lot of us have been saying, This is what's going to happen. This is what's going to happen, and people weren't listening. Then when it happened, we all just kind of deflated for a while. Rest and self care are important to our resistance too. I think a lot of people just felt overwhelmed and disconnected and didn't know what to do, which is why when 50501 began, it blew up so quickly. After our moment of rest, people were like, All right, I'm ready to stand up, and then people who have never stood up before were like, Here, let me help you. So then the activists who are more tired and exhausted, who have been fighting this fight for so long now, have other people willing to stand up and help carry the torch. 

VoxPopuli: Are there other ways to resist without going to a protest rally? Rallies aren’t everyone’s thing. 

Speegle:  There are definitely other ways to resist. First and foremost, it involves voting. You can follow your local organizations, nonprofits, join your local parties, see what they're doing, if people need canvassing for people that you want to vote for. You can do online stuff that helps. You just need to get connected.