A crowd of about 200 energetic people gathered under the Gateway Arch to protest the Trump administration and its harsh policies that they say are affecting everyday working people.
The downtown St. Louis rally was part of the nationwide May Day protests for workers’ rights. Some protesters waved signs that read "Save Our Democracy," "Trans Rights are Human Rights," "Impeach Trump" and "Forget Tariffs, Tax the Rich." Many protesters said they are fed up with high grocery prices, tax cuts for billionaires, federal layoffs, harsh immigration policies and uncertainty around social services.
St. Louisan Nancee Beattie is worried about the rising cost of medications for her disabled adult son, who waved an upside-down American flag from his wheelchair. Beattie said she hopes the government does not gut Medicaid and Medicare services, because she will not be able to afford his health care or medicine. Since Jan. 20, she has paid about $100 more for his medications than she paid previously.
Beattie is also concerned about social services for her aging mother and for herself.
“I am retired. He (her son) has lost his job due to his disability, and my husband is hoping to hang onto his,” Beattie said. “I'm an early retiree, but when Social Security time comes for me, is there going to be anything there? My husband is approaching retirement age, and we're worried about it.”
Liz Higginbotham is also concerned about her Social Security check.
“I didn't use to check my bank statement every month to make sure I got my Social Security check, but I do now,” she said.
She came out to the protest to let the Trump administration know that she and other protesters are not happy with the way it is running the country.
“They're going to destroy democracy, to abolish due process,” she said. “We've just got to keep getting out there and keep making noise and keep letting them know we're not accepting any of this.”
May Day protests are held yearly on May 1, which is the same day as International Workers’ Day. May Day Strong organizers say they want billionaires to stop running the country and are demanding the administration put families over fortunes, public schools over private profits, health care over hedge funds and housing over homelessness.
“May Day 2025, we are standing united. We're organizing for a world where every family has housing, health care, fair wages, union protection, and safety — regardless of race, zip code, or immigration status,” organizers said on the May Day Strong website. “This is a war on working people — and we will not stand down.”
Some anti-Trump protesters say they are ashamed of the country for deporting American citizens. They are also worried about their neighbors’ well-being since some live in communities with immigrants and people without legal status.
“I think we do need a good immigration policy for people to become citizens, but I don't think deporting people who are citizens is legal,” Laura Thake said at the rally. “They deserve due process, and he's moving too swiftly and carelessly and tearing families apart.”
Thake also came to protest Trump’s environmental policies around drilling and timber cutting. Her family owns farmland in Southwest Missouri. They do not produce large-scale crops, but the people who use their property provide hay for cattle. She is paying close attention to the larger farms in her area on how they might be affected by upcoming tariffs or agricultural and environmental policies, because it could have a negative effect on her family’s farmland.
Gennine Westerman came to the rally with her three Millstadt Library book club buddies to fight for a free press. She said Trump’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, the country’s education department and libraries are giving her much anxiety. She is outraged about Trump’s cuts to library funding and the banning of books in certain governmental agencies.
“That is very reminiscent of Nazi Germany, where they banned certain books, where they burned books,” Westerman said. “I don't believe the government should have any right to say what you can read. I think maybe some books are inappropriate for small children, but the parents should be responsible for that, not the government.”
