About 1,000 sign-waving, chant-cheering protesters lined the curbs along 蜜柚直播鈥檚 North Oracle and West River roads Saturday morning to protest the richest man in the world.
The grassroots movement, which began online, drew residents from across the state and country to the area surrounding the 蜜柚直播 Tesla dealership where they aired their grievances about Elon Musk and President Donald Trump to passersby.
Some Tesla owners decorated their parked vehicles with signs proclaiming they were purchased before they 鈥渒new Musk was crazy.鈥
A protest of President Trump and Elon Musk Saturday stretched across the four corners of North Oracle and West River roads. Organizers said it attracted about 1,300 people.
Others used their mouths to say what signs couldn鈥檛, like protester Sue Bastian, who has traveled the world raising awareness about human rights. She鈥檚 been gassed, sent to jail and arrested on her 鈥渜uest for justice and truth.鈥 But the pint-sized Bastian has refused to stand down, she said. She鈥檚 walked from Salem to Montgomery and now from Oracle to River roads seeking equality in this world.
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鈥淚鈥檝e been resisting my whole life,鈥 Bastian said. 鈥淏eing here is okay, but I much prefer direct action. I know what it鈥檚 like to be out on the ground.鈥
This was the fourth protest organized by 82-year-old Phineas Anderson at the corner, and by far the largest. Anderson said that using counters on each corner and averaging their counts, the organizers estimated the maximum attendance at about 1,300.
About 1,000 people attended Saturday's protest against Elon Musk and Donald Trump outside 蜜柚直播's Tesla dealership, near North Oracle Road and West River Road. Musk, who is leading efforts to slash the federal government, is CEO of Tesla.聽
Video courtesy BG Boyd.
鈥淭oday was unbelievable,鈥 said Anderson, who worked for years as headmaster of Green Fields Country Day School. 鈥淚 was expecting maybe 400-600. It was invigorating.鈥
Nary a hand was seen not holding a sign boasting a quick and quirky quip aimed at Musk and his perceived 鈥済overnment takeover.鈥
Phineas Anderson, the protest organizer, said he anticipated about 600 people would participate. He said that using counters on each corner and averaging their counts, the estimated the maximum attendance was about 1,300.
Some messages were written on the back of Biden-Harris yard signs, others on scraps of cardboard, and others professionally printed. Some horns honked and passengers waved. Others simply rolled up their windows trying to navigate the busy intersection that was overtaken with impassioned protestors.
Frank Sanzo stands on the median along North Oracle at West Rover roads Saturday as fellow protestors crowd one of the corners of the intersection.
鈥淲e want a democracy. We don鈥檛 want a king,鈥 said 蜜柚直播 native Gilbert Granillo. 鈥淲e are also here protesting the richest man in the world.鈥
Granillo wanted to be a person, a voice, a body in the effort to move the country forward, he said. His desire to create discussion and disruption in the name of political justice is as real today as it has ever been.
For some, the decision to participate was spur of the moment and wildly unplanned.
Jeanette Reisenburg, of 蜜柚直播, said she watched the news Friday evening and felt compelled to get out and do something ... 鈥渁nything.鈥
鈥淓verything is just getting over the top,鈥 Reisenburg said. 鈥淲e have to push the limits and do something, or else we鈥檙e done.鈥
About 1,000 people gathered near the corner of North Oracle and River roads today to protest Elon Musk's activities in the federal government outside a Tesla dealership. Musk is the CEO and a top shareholder of Tesla.聽
Video by Tim Steller, 蜜柚直播.
