‘Free America Walkout’: A protest campaign to mark one year of Trump 2.0

The Trump 2.0 administration will face a ‘Free America Walkout’ on the day the government completes one year in office. Tens of thousands of dissenters are going to join gatherings across the country on the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s inauguration.

“The vanguard in this are starting to think about how … one day, peaceful, legally permitted marches are not enough to push back against the administration,” Dana Fisher, a professor at American University’s School of International Service, said.

She added, “And they’re starting to think through what types of tactics are ones that people are comfortable with and would be willing and open to participating in to expand the toolbox.”

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The movement’s official website encourages people from all walks of life to join the walk-outs on January 20 local time. “A free America begins the moment we refuse to cooperate. This is not a request. This is a rupture. This is a protest and a promise. In the face of fascism, we will be ungovernable,” the website said.

What to know about the walkouts?

Departing from the massive weekend rallies that characterised the movement following Donald Trump’s first inauguration, the Women’s March organisers have shifted strategy this year by calling for a nationwide weekday walkout.

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The organisation stated that the primary objective of this action is to demonstrate to the incoming administration that as it intensifies its attacks “on our rights, our bodies, and our livelihoods,” the American public is capable of escalating its resistance in kind.

While the central Women’s March leadership issued the initial call-to-action, the execution of the protest relies on local grassroots groups organising “walkout” events within their own communities.

To date, organisers have recorded more than 600 separate events scheduled to occur simultaneously across the United States. These coordinated demonstrations are set to take place at 2:00 PM local time on January 20.

Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women’s March, said, “We really felt like it was important for us to have a mobilisation that tested some additional tools in the toolbox. What will it look like if we do an action on a weekday? Where we are withdrawing our labour. Where we’re refusing no shopping, no working, no commerce.”