ROANOKE, Va. – Hundreds and Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Poff Federal Building in Roanoke to protest the actions of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, better known as DOGE.
The protest was part of a nationwide movement to protest the cuts made to federal programs and employees by DOGE.
“We’re in unprecedented times with the federal government being dismantled,” Marie Collins said. “My friends are losing their jobs inside the federal government and in the nonprofit world relying on grant funding. We just needed to give people a space to speak up and say this is not ok.”
Musk and his quick rise to an influential position were also criticized by the protesters.
There was no shortage of topics for the protesters to speak about as many of those who gathered held signs discussing a variety of topics.
“We’re talking about federal workers being fired, we’re talking about data breaches we’re talking about national security, these are not partisan issues, these affect every single American,” Katie Dralle said.
Other topics included the cutting of federal funding for different programs, transgender rights, and farmers affected by tariffs.
Roanoke Mayor Joe Cobb also made an appearance in support of the protest as he felt it was part of his duty to the people of Roanoke.
“It’s important for me to stand with the people of Roanoke who are reeling from the effects of many of these executive orders and decisions being made at Washington D.C.,” Cobb said.
Cobb also promised the crowd that the City of Roanoke would continue to look out for everyone, no matter the decisions made in D.C.
“We’re going to continue to offer the best that we can offer in this city,” Cobb said. “All of our essential services take care of our employees and make sure our citizens have access to the resources they need and advocating with our congressional representatives that they know they can count on us.”
Protesters also criticized U.S. Rep. Ben Cline (R-Botetourt) and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem), claiming they were complacent in allowing Musk’s actions.
WSLS 10 reached out to both congressmen for comment, but received no word back.
