Protests in Modesto against Trump recognize Americans’ threatened right
The Five Points intersection where McHenry Avenue meets downtown is important to many of Modesto’s politically active protesters. On the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month, many of them gather with signs, their partners and friends to protest for an hour in the late afternoon, as they did this week.
Some of the approximately 75 people who turned out Tuesday carried signs decrying the Trump administration’s intervention in Venezuela for oil and negotiations for rare earth minerals from Ukraine.
Others had signs about the loss of women’s reproductive rights under a conservative majority on the Supreme Court.
And in the wake of an ICE agent killing Minneapolis resident and ICE legal observer Renee Good on Jan. 7, many carried signs in her memory and against ICE.
Lynn Lucas was one of those carrying a sign about Good being fatally shot. She said that regularly protesting staves away a feeling of helplessness and provides an avenue for her to fight. “It’s everything. If I don’t, I’m allowing myself to be helpless,” Lucas said. “This has to change, it’s got to change. I’m not going down the road of fascism without a fight.”
While the specific issues close to people’s hearts vary at these regular protests, the consistent message is clear: They stand in solidarity against President Donald Trump.
Organized by the Modesto Peace/Life Center, 50501 Modesto and other local activist groups, these demonstrations hope to offer a steady reminder that protesting is a right that cannot be taken away by any administration.
Jenna Mello has been protesting consistently since January 2025 and hopes to convey to the community that, under the First Amendment, the right to protest is enshrined. She also wants to draw attention to other constitutional protections that have come under fire since the second Trump administration, like the right to due process being violated by ICE.
“We know that ICE is here, we know that we have communities that are scared, but the reason we’re here is to use our privilege and speak out for those who can’t,” Mello said.
Most demonstrators the Bee spoke with said Tuesday’s protest was far from their first, and many have attended these scheduled, consistent protests since last January.
Bill Walker, a volunteer with 50501 Modesto, has been a protester since the 1990s for environmental causes. He is one among many protesters who regularly show up to voice their discontent with the actions of the Trump administration.
“It’s just second nature to me. You have to stand up and speak out and not be silenced,” Walker said. “When people are silenced, that’s when bad things happen. That’s when our country slips farther down on the road to fascism. By coming out here, I know that I’m just adding my voice to the millions across the country who are saying the same thing — and that’s a good feeling of solidarity.”
This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 4:18 PM.