People held so-called "bridge takeovers" on highways overpasses in numerous cities across the state on Friday, to protest sweeping changes by the Trump administration and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
Karen Hart joined protesters at the M-14 overpass on Nixon Road in Ann Arbor. She said President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are dismantling federal services that people rely on.
"And I have a young adult child who is going to be left with a world in shambles and that's not right," she said.
Mary Ferguson said she's horrified by Trump's support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine. And she said Trump's trade war against Canada is distressing.
"I have family in Canada and I am absolutely ashamed for my country," Ferguson said. "Canadians are the kindest, nicest people. They fought with us in Afghanistan, they fought with us in Iraq. When 9/11 happened, airplanes were diverted to Halifax, and people took Americans into their homes. When you piss off a Canadian, you know you've really stepped in it," Ferguson said.
Organizers said some of the protests will continue through the weekend.
Also on Friday, hundreds of people protested at the Ann Arbor Tesla dealership on Jackson Road. Tesla's stock price has fallen, as have its sales, as CEO Elon Musk, working as head of the new federal Department of Government Efficiency, has continued to lay off thousands of federal workers.
Those layoffs are being challenged in federal courts.
Musk also said on a recent Fox News program, “Most of the federal spending is entitlements. So that’s the big one to eliminate."
