About 1,000 in Tucson protest Musk, Trump

About 1,000 sign-waving, chant-cheering protesters lined the curbs along Tucson’s North Oracle and West River roads Saturday morning to protest the richest man in the world.

The grassroots movement, which began online, drew residents from across the state and country to the area surrounding the Tucson Tesla dealership where they aired their grievances about Elon Musk and President Donald Trump to passersby.

Some Tesla owners decorated their parked vehicles with signs proclaiming they were purchased before they “knew Musk was crazy.”

Others used their mouths to say what signs couldn’t, like protester Sue Bastian, who has traveled the world raising awareness about human rights. She’s been gassed, sent to jail and arrested on her “quest for justice and truth.” But the pint-sized Bastian has refused to stand down, she said. She’s walked from Salem to Montgomery and now from Oracle to River roads seeking equality in this world.

“I’ve been resisting my whole life,” Bastian said. “Being here is okay, but I much prefer direct action. I know what it’s like to be out on the ground.”

This was the fourth protest organized by 82-year-old Phineas Anderson at the corner, and by far the largest. Anderson said that using counters on each corner and averaging their counts, the organizers estimated the maximum attendance at about 1,300.

“Today was unbelievable,” said Anderson, who worked for years as headmaster of Green Fields Country Day School. “I was expecting maybe 400-600. It was invigorating.”

Nary a hand was seen not holding a sign boasting a quick and quirky quip aimed at Musk and his perceived “government takeover.”

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Some messages were written on the back of Biden-Harris yard signs, others on scraps of cardboard, and others professionally printed. Some horns honked and passengers waved. Others simply rolled up their windows trying to navigate the busy intersection that was overtaken with impassioned protestors.

“We want a democracy. We don’t want a king,” said Tucson native Gilbert Granillo. “We are also here protesting the richest man in the world.”

Granillo wanted to be a person, a voice, a body in the effort to move the country forward, he said. His desire to create discussion and disruption in the name of political justice is as real today as it has ever been.

For some, the decision to participate was spur of the moment and wildly unplanned.

Jeanette Reisenburg, of Tucson, said she watched the news Friday evening and felt compelled to get out and do something ... “anything.”

“Everything is just getting over the top,” Reisenburg said. “We have to push the limits and do something, or else we’re done.”