Thousands gather in Raleigh for protests over NC Supreme Court race, Trump and Musk
Thousands of demonstrators gathered at the State Capitol in downtown Raleigh on Monday for protests related to the ongoing challenge of the results in the state Supreme Court election and President Donald Trump’s actions since taking office last month.
First, beginning at noon, hundreds gathered to protest Republican Jefferson Griffin’s attempt to throw out 65,000 ballots cast in November’s Supreme Court election — which, speakers said, could set a dangerous precedent for future elections.
“The eyes of the nation are on North Carolina,” said Caitlin Swain, co-founder and director of Forward Justice, a nonpartisan law, policy and strategy center based in Durham. “What happens here is a harbinger of what will come, not just for our state, but for the South and for the nation.”
The race between Griffin and his opponent, Democrat Allison Riggs, remains uncertified more than three months after the election, despite Riggs’ lead of 734 votes being affirmed by two recounts. A Wake County Superior Court judge dismissed Griffin’s case on Feb. 7, but he has since appealed the ruling.
In seeking to throw out tens of thousands of ballots, Griffin is challenging three key categories of voters: those who don’t have a Social Security number or driver’s license number attached to their registration records; military and overseas voters who cast absentee ballots without providing a voter ID; and adult children of North Carolina residents who currently live abroad.
Monday’s rally at the Capitol featured remarks from a handful of voters whose ballots Griffin is challenging.
Jenna Marrocco, 27, said she voted for the first time in November’s election. Marrocco first registered to vote when she was in college at N.C. State University, she said, but found her registration was inactive before she went to vote this fall.
Following information she found on the State Board of Elections website, Marrocco said, she updated her registration during the early-voting period.
“The election worker updated my registration,” Marrocco told the crowd. “Everything went smoothly.”
Then, weeks after the election, she found her name on the list of voters Griffin was challenging.
“This list is telling me that even if you follow the rules, even if you do everything right, even if you try to make a difference, they will still try to tell you your vote doesn’t count,” Marrocco said.
Marrocco and the other speakers expressed worry that Griffin’s tactics, particularly if they prove to be successful, could threaten future elections.
“If we allow this today, what happens tomorrow? If they can silence 60,000 of us today, how many will they silence next time?” said Amy Bryant, a doctor and Orange County resident whose vote Griffin is challenging. “This isn’t about one election. This is about the integrity of our democracy.”
Monday’s “The People v. Griffin” protest was organized by Common Cause NC, a grassroots organization based in Raleigh. The group organized more than a dozen similar rallies across the state Monday, garnering hundreds more supporters in Charlotte, Greensboro, Asheville and other towns.
Thousands gather for ‘50501’ protest
A second protest, unaffiliated with Common Cause and the Griffin protest, attracted thousands of demonstrators, also at the State Capitol. The event was part of a nationwide day of protests under the “50501” umbrella — a movement, generated on social media in the weeks since Trump took office, to host 50 protests in 50 states on one day against the actions of the president and his administration.
Protesters marched around the perimeter of the Capitol and its grounds, along Morgan, Wilmington, Edenton and Salisbury streets. They carried signs and chanted about a wide range of issues and groups, including immigration and immigrants, the LGBTQ community and federal workers.
But the overarching theme of the grassroots event was the unprecedented power Trump has given billionaire Elon Musk, who is serving in an unelected capacity and has swiftly worked to dismantle multiple agencies in the federal government.
Annemarie Selaya said she has attended plenty of protests throughout her life, calling out actions by the federal government that she does not agree with. But Trump’s moves so far in his second term go beyond anything she’s protested in the past, she said.
“This is an entirely different thing other than just a variance of opinions,” Selaya said. “This is a breach of our rights as citizens that are protected by the Constitution.”
In his role in the Trump administration, Musk is tasked with running the Department of Government Efficiency, which Trump created. Multiple lawsuits, including at least two filed by dozens of state attorneys general, claim that DOGE and the powers that Trump granted Musk in leading the agency — including the ability to dismantle federal agencies and access sensitive data — are unconstitutional.
“This is a constitutional crisis in the sense that we have rights and restrictions in the constitution which are currently being ignored by this administration,” Selaya said.
So far, Musk and DOGE have targeted the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other agencies in his quest to “delete entire agencies” from the federal government.
Ethan Sivek of Zebulon attended Monday’s protest in part to speak out against Musk’s actions. As a subcontractor with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Sivek worries about his own work being impacted by the Trump administration — and how those changes could affect everyday Americans.
“Things are going to be really bad for people if all the funding stops reaching beneficiaries,” Sivek said.
Sivek’s wife, Katherine, also attended the protest. She specifically wanted to support diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, which Trump has targeted through multiple executive orders since taking office.
Sivek said she thinks many people do not understand the meaning of DEI or how it helps a wide range of people, including women and those who are disabled — like her. She was diagnosed with ALS last year, she said, and wanted to attend Monday’s event for anyone who wasn’t able to do so.
“I need to be here to help those that really can’t do anything, that are stuck at home, that physically can’t come out,” Sivek said.
Sherrie Yuschak of Lillington attended the rally against Griffin early Monday afternoon and planned to stay for the second demonstration.
Yuschak told The N&O that she wasn’t closely involved with politics for much of her life. But Griffin’s attempt to throw out ballots of her fellow North Carolinians concerns her, she said, and has encouraged her to show up to protest.
“If we don’t come out, we’re being neglectful to our democracy. And to me, it’s an affront on all of the generations before us who fought for our rights to vote, as women, as minorities,” Yuschak said. “They shaped this country, and we can’t just sit back and let people take it over.”
A previous 50501 event drew thousands of protesters to downtown Raleigh on Feb. 5.
Reporter Kyle Ingram contributed.
This story was originally published February 17, 2025 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Thousands gather in Raleigh for protests over NC Supreme Court race, Trump and Musk."
