They held signs reading, "Save Our Democracy," "Support Federal Workers" and "Honk If You Care."
Under the early afternoon sun, they lined the sidewalk, facing the intersection of Dave Lyle Boulevard and East White Street in downtown Rock Hill, South Carolina, encouraging cars and trucks to honk and cheering when they did.
At its peak, some 90 protesters held signs, chanted and cheered at the roadside rally organized by Brian Ballard, a resident of Catawba, South Carolina, who planned the gathering to mark International Women's Day. It was the second protest he had organized in three weeks with his newly-formed group "York County Rising."
Many people who attended said they were fed up and scared of President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk's broad cuts to the federal workforce, government programs and social services.
Katherine Wright, a partially retired health care worker, said she was incensed by last week's cuts to contract spending for veterans' health care services.
"The national debt is an issue," she said, "but cutting programs without the proper analysis isn't going to help us either. And I'm on Social Security. What's going to happen to me?"
Last week, Trump directed the Social Security Administration to cut 7,000 employees, or about 12% of its workforce, raising concerns about staffing at the agency, which is already at a 50-year low. Trump has vowed not to touch Social Security benefits, but has also alleged widespread fraud in the system.
Noah Nguyen, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, said it seemed to him like Musk's Department of Government Efficiency was carrying out a "systematic dismantling of a federal infrastructure that has provided for the common good for the last 100 years."
He said he felt mobilized to show up after the Department of Veterans Affairs announced plans last week to lay off more than 80,000 workers. More than 25% of the VA's workforce is comprised of military veterans.
"What's happening right now with Veterans Affairs, it's absolutely egregious," he said. "They're firing people who've done so much for people who have sacrificed so much for the country."
Nguyen said VA staff saved his life when he returned from two deployments to Afghanistan in poor mental health.
Just one counter-protester briefly showed up to the rally: Bart Noonan, who runs the nonprofit West Blvd Ministry in Charlotte, which focuses on youth mentoring and community building in Charlotte's underserved areas.
"I think we had so much wasteful spending that was happening in our government that things have to get pulled back. You're going to have some people lose jobs," he said. "Loss happens. People lose jobs. People lose family members. That's called life."
He said he was losing money from his IRA and stock investments ever since Trump announced tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, then put many of the tariffs on pause.
"I'm not crying about it," he said. "We are going to have to suffer some loss to right this ship."
The "York County Rising" group plans to hold another rally on Saturday, March 22 at a to-be-determined location.
