Update: Constituents protest outside McClintock’s Modesto office. What they want from him
Update: An earlier version of this story listed district office hours Rep. McClintock’s staff planned for Tuesday, Feb. 25. Those office hours have been canceled.
About 150 constituents protested outside Rep. Tom McClintock’s Modesto office Monday morning, waving signs, chanting their disapproval of the new administration’s handling of issues and demanding his support in pushing back.
The protest followed another, on Feb. 21, after an email sent by McClintock’s office asked for feedback “to discuss important issues facing our nation and our district, along with any difficulties you may be experiencing with a federal agency.”
McClintock was not in his office, but representatives let groups of four to five people come inside to speak for about a minute each on the issues they want the Congress member to address. Many brought up the shifting stance on Ukraine, concerns about the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, access to their records and concerns about the constitutionality of the actions being taken by the new government.
The crowd skewed older, with many protesters in their 60s and 70s, though some younger people attended.
Devon Powell, one of those younger participants, said he’s concerned about the breakdown of checks and balances and executive branch overreach. Considering the event was on a weekday, he said he was pleased with the turnout.
Another participant, who pointed out that McClintock has had a good track record for defending the Constitution, is concerned about why the representative isn’t taking a stand now.
After hearing from five groups of constituents, staff closed McClintock’s office at 1020 15th St., so protesters moved to the corner of J and 15th streets.
Protesters held signs that read “I’ve seen better cabinets at IKEA,” “Democracy not Theocracy” and “Tom, people over party, please.” Some held the American flag upside down, a way to signal a state of distress.
Colby Zavala organized the event by using the Mobilize app and sending it to Indivisible, a progressive group that formed in 2016 after the first election of Donald Trump. He said he had been talking to McClintock and his staff about issues related to the representative’s anti-LGBTQ stance.
McClintock has voted against gay marriage and called it a “travesty” in 2008.
“So that’s how I started speaking with him, confronting him on those topics and his voting record on LGBT issues,” he said. “And then as everything else was going on with the election, we were concerned about [President Trump] saying he was going to be a dictator and doing illegal stuff and then, after the election happened, he kind of proved it – that’s what he’s doing.”
Cathy Doo, a Turlock-based activist, came to tell her House representative about her concerns.
“He needs to remember that we are his constituents and he works for us,” she said. “And so many of us are objecting strongly, fiercely, to what’s happening in the Trump administration and what’s happening with Elon Musk.”
David Hosmer, 72, walked to the protest from his home. He’s lived in Modesto for 45 years and said Trump’s stance on the Ukraine war convinced him to attend.
“He’s betraying our allies, our principals of the Constitution, our principals of America, and who’s next? Is it going to be Taiwan, NATO?”
Zavala said Trump’s attempt to push through birthright citizenship by an executive order is an example of unconstitutional behavior. Birthright citizenship is a constitutional amendment dating back to 1868. Trump’s attempts to undo it were blocked four times by federal judges.
“They [Republicans] control the House, the Senate, all three branches of government. They could just put their bills through and get their stuff done, but they’re not. They’re choosing to do it unconstitutionally,” he said.
Shelley Setliff of Modesto said her main reason for coming out was to express opposition to Elon Musk. “He keeps saying there is transparency, [but] there is no transparency,” she said. “And they’re taking a wrecking ball to our democracy and middle class.”
Sharon Custer has lived in Modesto for 30 years. “They’re supposed to be tech people that understand programming and all of that, and yet they don’t understand the basics of what they’re looking at,” she said, referring to members of DOGE. “They’re making changes to our system without understanding the ramifications of it.”
While most of the response from passers-by was positive, with supportive honks prompted by signs that read “Honk for democracy,” one person flipped off the crowd while driving past, and another truck did what one protester described as a “coal roll,” meaning they kicked out black diesel smoke from the back of their exhaust pipe, leaving some coughing.
People chanted “Hey-hey, ho-ho, Donald Trump has got to go.” Modestan and veteran Angie Darvy, was one of them.
“He’s not looking out for U.S. citizens, he’s looking out for his own pocketbook,” she said. “And I’m not a radical, I’m just an everyday citizen.”
Darvy held a “Veterans against Trump” sign and wore a hat that identified her as a retired member of the Air Force.
“If this country doesn’t wake up … it’s going to turn into a dictatorship,” she said. “We walked away from kings and tyrants and things of that nature 250 years ago – we need to maintain our democracy.”
Rich Alexander is a gender-studies student at Stanislaus State University, who is concerned about the removal of his program. He is also entirely reliant on Social Security at 74.
“If they cut my Social Security, that’s my income,” he said. “I’m too old to go back to work.”
Many people were from Modesto and the surrounding area, but some traveled from other areas of McClintock’s district, including North Fork, Murphys, Mariposa, El Dorado and Oakhurst.
Judy Hanna came from Sonora. Tuolumne County is susceptible to wildfires, she said, and the reduction in federal workers and people will affect her safety. “Some of the people who have been cut are supposed to be training seasonal fireworkers right now,” she said. “That’s just one of the many things.”
She is also concerned about the recent budget cuts. “All the many blanket cuts that this president has been making,” she said. “And he’s got his friend the DOGE-guy using a chainsaw, which is not very delicate, to make cuts.”
Giancarlo Gori, a veteran, was tearing up outside of McClintock’s office.
“When I swore my oath, in the military, it was to a Constitution, it wasn’t to a person,” he said. “I can’t believe anyone voted for this, and I’m sorry if they were duped, but it scares me that some of them weren’t and that this is OK with them.”
The Bee sought comment from McClintock’s deputy chief of staff but was directed to the Congress member’s communications director. There was no response by deadline.
This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 4:48 PM.
