Hundreds of people were at the San Diego County Administration building on Monday to protest President Donald Trump and his administration.
Each had their own reason for being there, ranging from immigration and LGBTQ+ rights to climate action and more.
For Ray Meltvedt, the tipping point was when his daughter and son-in-law were laid off unexpectedly.
"My daughter and son-in-law both are rangers in Yosemite, at least they were, up to two days ago when they received a stock email that said they were no longer competent for the job they were doing," Meltvedt said.
He lives in San Juan Capistrano and drove to the San Diego protest to support his daughter and the many federal workers being laid off.
"Eight hundred of our forest rangers. They were the rangers that met all of us when you went to Yosemite," he said. "They're the ones who checked you in for backpacking, cleaned the trails, welcomed people and helped people to understand and be safe in our national forest."
He admitted many of President Trump’s actions had not had a direct impact on him — until they did.
"And then all of a sudden it hit home. It hit my home. My family. My own daughter who planned on living there forever," he said. "It's going to happen to everybody. Tomorrow it'll be somebody else, their sexual orientation or whether they voted for the president or not, will be targeted."
There have been protests throughout the county, and nationwide, since President Trump took office.
Some were organized by the 50501 Movement, which planned demonstrations in all 50 states to protest what the group called "the anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies."
"Fifty states, 50 protests, one movement. And it began just a couple weeks ago on Feb. 5 when people decided that we weren't going to sit idly by. We had to get out to the streets. We had to really start getting this revolution going again," said Frances Yasmeen Motiwalla, a grassroots political organizer and board member for Activist San Diego, a social justice nonprofit.
"Instead of just yelling, we're here to start organizing," she said. "What that means is both listening to speakers from organizations that have a clear idea and have been organizing for a long time, sharing their wisdom of how exactly people can get involved at this critical moment."
Motiwalla said this movement won’t be dying any time soon, and will include "not just protests but advocacy, lobby visits, press conferences, boycotts. We're here to combine all of these strategies."
The groups are organizing a nationwide blackout on Feb. 28 where supporters are asking the public to refrain from any shopping.
