Over 200 people marched in Sitka Wednesday (3-19-25), protesting the recent actions of President Donald Trump. The group “Sitkans For Peace & Democracy” marched downtown, decrying executive overreach and billionaire Elon Musk’s influence on the administration in its first 100 days.
Protestors held signs that ran the gamut, pointing to the sheer amount of issues that Sitkans are concerned about- from the firings of federal workers to tariffs and the President’s position on Ukraine. Some protestors carried a Statue of Liberty, flanked by puppets of the president and Musk.
Organizer Tory O’Connell Curran spoke to the crowd ahead of the march. She said she knew they were there for different reasons, but things she felt the group had in common were – a belief in the constitution, a love for democracy and a hope that the government will support the working class, not the billionaire class.
“Resistance to presidential overreach is working, and it will continue to work if we show up,” she said. “We protect our right to free speech by using it, and we keep our democracy by practicing it.”
Many of the signs in the crowd spoke directly to Senator Lisa Murkowski, who was visiting Sitka on Wednesday. Harvey Brandt expressed his gratitude for the strong words Murkowski shared in her address to the Alaska Legislature on Tuesday.
“I know every politician has different views, maybe says a few things one way or another that you don’t like,” Brandt said. “What she said yesterday at the legislature was truly impressive and courageous.”
Before making their way down the city’s main street, the group marched around Sitka’s community center, Harrigan Centennial Hall, where at that moment, Murkowski was meeting in a round table discussion with community leaders. KCAW spoke with Murkowski after the meeting:
“I kind of saw some of them as they were moving this way, but it looked like a good crowd of people,” Murkowski said. “There’s a lot of frustration, there’s a lot of anxiety that has been created by this uncertainty we’re seeing with some of these decisions coming out of DOGE, impacting Forest Service employees, the terminations that we have seen [at] other federal agencies. I’m seeing Alaskans speaking out in different ways, and I’m hopeful that I’m going to have an opportunity to visit with some of the Sitka residents that were a part of that.”
Editor’s Note: KCAW will have more coverage of the Senator’s visit and her round-table discussion on Raven News later this week.
