At least 45 protesters rallied at the Chapman Centennial Green Park on Friday to decry the policies of President Donald Trump.
Demonstrators held signs and wore clothing critical of the president over issues including raids and killings by immigration agents and Trump's inclusion in files related to the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Boosters of the president say his friendship with the disgraced financier doesn't necessarily mean Trump committed wrongdoing. They defend his raids as a remedy to a record number of border crossing attempts under former President Joe Biden.
Indivisible Tulsa County organized Friday's protest, which has not been the first and is slated not to be the last.
"We've been out here the last couple weeks," said Brandie Czerwinski, an organizer with Indivisible.
In addition to occasional and large protests, such as "No Kings Day," organizers are planning smaller demonstrations every Friday as the weather gets warmer.
"It shows that the issues are at the front of our minds all the time," Czerwinski said. "It gives a lot of other people chances to be out here. It gives us a place to come once a week to be basically in community with each other."
Tulsa has seen a number of protests since Trump began his second term. Widespread fear and anger over Trump's immigration policies, like the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, has mobilized a number of people to join in demonstrations and vigils.
"We have a lot of new members," Czerwinski said. "Every time we have a protest, we have people who come out and tell us that this is their first protest they've ever been to."
Trump's inclusion in the latest batch of Epstein files has triggered anger as well.
Protester Katie Gibbs held up a printed flag with an image of Epstein and Trump while sporting an "ABOLISH ICE" T-shirt.
"If I don't do something now, I can't look my sons in the eye and know I tried my best to give them the future they deserve," Gibbs said.
The selection of Fridays for more regular protests was a deliberate choice, hoping the end of the work week will bring more people simply driving or walking by, as well as spillover from Tulsa's First Friday Art Crawl.
"You catch people [on] Friday, happy hour, they're leaving work," Czerwinski said. "[They can] come by and meet us and see that we're just regular people who want to make a difference."
