Hundreds gathered Saturday on Raleigh Bicentennial Plaza across from the North Carolina General Assembly to protest the Trump Administration and presidential adviser Elon Musk.
Protestors objected to cuts made by the administration that fund scientific research, universities.
"We're not going to able to do the science that is detecting all of the harmful things that we want to try to remove from the environment," said Leah Fowler, who left her job as a probationary worker at the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development last week, which has a major campus in Research Triangle Park.
Fowler was specifically referring to how the cuts could interrupt critical studies on PFAS, so-called forever chemicals that have polluted rivers in North Carolina and other areas, as well as the effects of lead, arsenic, and microplastic contamination.
Fowler said she left as it became clear her position was in jeopardy after plans for major cuts to the EPA were announced by the Trump Administration. Fowler said she remains committed to the EPA's mission and is worried about the impact the proposed cuts could have.
Madge Cohen, a former state employee and grandmother of four, said she joined Saturday's protest because she's concerned about health care, science, and the Trump Administration's cuts to federal funding for universities. Cohen said she's especially concerned about what she sees as a "dismantling" of democracy by the Trump Administration and inaction by the rest of the U.S. government to do anything about it.
"The only thing that's going to stop this," Cohen said, "is if people get up, make enough noise, and make them uncomfortable enough that they're willing to do something about it."
