Protesters march at the Indiana Statehouse on Feb. 5, 2025, imploring officials to protect LGBTQ+ and immigrant Hoosiers. Whitney Downard, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Whitney Downard
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — Roughly 200 Hoosiers braved chilly rain at the Indiana Statehouse on Wednesday, Feb. 5, chanting as they circled the building for roughly five hours to protest President Donald Trump and top advisor Elon Musk.

Signs directed Hoosiers to “Stop this fascist coup!” and “Impeach the (poop emoji),” imploring state officials to protect the LGBTQ+ community and immigrants.

Horns periodically pierced the chants — “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Donald Trump has got to go!” — as protestors marched over tossed rose petals.

In the few weeks Trump has held the office, he has signed a record-breaking number of executive orders, targeting everything from immigration raids in schools and churches to transgender athletes and military members. Such actions spurred the #50501 gathering, which stands for 50 protests in 50 states on one day, a movement organized across social media platforms.

Thousands protested nationwide outside other state capitols.

A post online in the Indianapolis subreddit includes talking points, media training and safety tips for the local event, outlining various featured speakers alternated with marches around the Statehouse to stave off the cold.

Kristen Krueger, of Hancock County, shared her concerns about voter suppression — citing Indiana legislation that would limit early voting — and fears about Musk’s unprecedented power, including his government contracts funded by tax dollars.

“The idea of ceding power to someone unelected is a huge problem for me. He’s also against trans rights and his own trans child, which I think is just a despicable and inhumane position to have,” said Krueger. “I know trans kids and I feel very strongly that they should be protected and able to access medical care.”

Musk is the father of 12 children and has an adult transgender daughter. The South African immigrant previously said his daughter was “not a girl” and described her as figuratively “dead,” according to NBC News.

“I think it’s really important to stand up for the least among us. I was raised Christian and I’m just acting on all of the lessons that I was taught in Sunday school,” Krueger continued. “I don’t know how so many people have take those lessons to mean that it’s okay and the right thing to do to hate on people.”

Christian Hess, an Indianapolis resident, said he saw a #50501 post on Reddit and decided to help organize the effort.

“We’ve crossed a line at some point where we moved from when democracy was people willing to disagree to, ‘I don’t want to disagree with you, I want to control you.’ And that’s concerning,” Hess said.

He flagged Indiana bills that he said were tied with Project 2025 — a conservative plan with connections to Trump. A viral post attributed to Mad Voters includes nine such pieces of legislation, such as a proposal to criminalize drag shows.

Another effort to restrict “no-fault divorces” was killed due to a technicality on Tuesday after the author filed 11 bills, exceeding the House’s 10-bill limit. The drag show ban hasn’t yet been heard in committee.

Hess said the turnout on Wednesday was “amazing” but emphasized that it wouldn’t be the end of his organizing efforts.

“What’s next for me, for this is trying to capitalize on this momentum,” Hess said. “How do I take all this energy and these people who are so passionate and give these Hoosiers a place to keep doing this? About the issues they care about?”