A protest occurred Saturday before the Tesla dealership in Columbus, where citizens voiced concerns about Elon Musk and the Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Organized by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, along with other grassroots groups, the protest aimed to highlight perceived risks that DOGE and Musk pose to Americans' data, health and safety rights, wages and essential services.
Rick Neal, the protest organizer and former Biden campaign staffer, began the protests soon after President Trump’s inauguration. They were held every Saturday at the Tesla dealership. Initially, only a few people attended, but over 150 protestors gathered the past Saturday.
Neal, who ran unsuccessfully for Ohio’s 15th Congressional District in 2018, said his passion for government inspired him to start the protests.
“Abraham Lincoln had a vision: government of, by, and for the people,” Neal said. “We don’t want a government for Trump, by Musk, and of the tech lords, we want government for us, our government.”
Neal, a former Peace Corps volunteer who lived in Southeast Asia and Central Africa, said he is deeply troubled by DOGE’s role in eliminating USAID, with Musk playing a key part.
“Personally, it cuts me to the core as a humanitarian,” Neal said. “Friends of mine, experts with decades of experience, kicked out of jobs. Most importantly, the people I used to help are lost and abandoned — who’s going to fill that vacuum?”
Sally Saliga, a former nurse from Washington Courthouse, said she could not sit at home anymore and drove two hours to attend the protest.
Having worked primarily with Alzheimer’s patients at a memory care facility, Saliga wanted to protest DOGE’s attempts to defund the National Institutes of Health.
“The NIH is on the cusp of great developments,” Saliga said. “If this funding is cut … it will put us behind another 20 years in Alzheimer’s research.”
Betsy O’Brochta, a retired K-4 teacher from Upper Arlington, attended the protest out of concern for her granddaughter’s future and democracy.
“I care about democracy and our Constitution,” O’Brochta said. “I have a two-year-old granddaughter that I am heartbroken for that right now her rights are less than what mine were.”
O’Brochta said when speaking with those who oppose diversity, equity and inclusion her key approach is to avoid using the acronym, DEI. Instead, she refers to it by its full name and asks which aspect they disagree with.
“I think what’s going to happen is the curriculum is going to be watered down significantly and grant writing will be affected,” O’Brochta said. “I don’t think we’re going to get quality people wanting to go into education or even go to college where it’s being prevented.”
Steve Kretzer, a Columbus resident and owner of Industry Insights, joined the protest because he views Musk as a “chaos agent” whose management style poses broader risks to society.
“This philosophy of firing, then figuring out what they do later, is making us all less safe,” Kretzer said. “It’s undemocratic and un-American.”
Kretzer, whose daughter recently graduated from Ohio State University, expressed hope that younger generations will rise to the challenge and become more engaged in shaping the future. Kretzer encourages young people to vote, protest and advocate for the causes they care about and said their engagement is critical in shaping a more just and equitable society.
“It’s of the utmost importance that (young people) get involved,” Kretzer said. “We older folks are doing what we can, but your generation is going to be the one that really makes a huge difference.”
