It was Friday afternoon rush hour on Interstate 95, and more than 40 Marylanders gathered on a Howard County overpass above eight lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic to holler into the wind.
They unfurled American flags and dangled handmade posters lambasting President Donald Trump’s administration and the Department of Government Efficiency from the Gorman Road overpass.
The site, just north of Laurel, has long been popular with protesters across the political spectrum for its ample sidewalk space and advantageous visibility from a major East Coast artery.
Lately, the overpass has attracted a new type of activist. Many newcomers who gathered Friday said they were federal workers or related to one.
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Maryland is feeling the squeeze as the Trump administration dramatically scales back the size of the government’s workforce. The federal government directly employs one in 10 of the state’s workers, about 325,000 people. Federal funding cuts to major institutions and nonprofits in the state have hampered their work and led to layoffs.
Frustrated with the Trump administration, some federal workers and family members said they came to the overpass looking for catharsis, community and a form of validation that only dozens of car horns per hour can provide.
“I get goose bumps every time someone honks a horn or yells,” said one federal worker who traveled to the overpass for the first time Friday. He declined to give his name out of concern for retaliation.
Many of the man’s friends have been laid off in recent weeks, and those who still have their jobs are juggling double or triple responsibilities, he said. He never considered himself an activist, but holding up a poster toward the northbound lanes as top 40 hits boomed from a portable speaker felt better than complaining at home.
In a way, the overpass provides federal workers with a place to vent anonymously. The federal worker waved to motorists who would never know his name or see his face. Some beeped and waved back.
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“This is what freedom is all about,” he said.
Marylanders, both liberal and conservative, for years have flocked to the Gorman Road overpass to stage protests and hang political messages. The bridge is about halfway between Baltimore and Washington. When I-95 traffic slows to a creep, commuters passing beneath are a captive audience.
Some activists who convene there regularly estimate that, during rush hour, 160 cars pass by each minute, said McNeal Brown Jr., chair of the Howard County Democratic Central Committee. That suggests two hours spent protesting from the overpass could reach more than 19,000 people, Brown said.
Since Trump’s election in November, two progressive groups — one started as a book club and the other affiliated with Indivisible Howard County — have staged two-hour rallies on the overpass each Tuesday and Friday.
Federal workers and members of their families have bolstered both groups’ numbers on the overpass in recent weeks, said Paul Baicich, a member of the Friday group. Perhaps that’s because spending time with people who are on the same wavelength is comforting, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic left many feeling isolated, he said.
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One federal worker, Mike, who declined to give his last name out of concern for retaliation, told only a trusted group of friends about his activities on the overpass.
Being with people who feel the same way is motivating, he said. “You’re not alone.”
Occasionally, Trump supporters show up too, Baicich said. None appeared Friday, except for a teen who leaned his torso out of a passenger window and shouted “Trump, Trump, Trump” as his vehicle crossed Gorman Road.
A few protesters shrugged and turned their attention back toward the highway. Sometimes drivers flash their middle finger at the people on the overpass, said Emily, who also declined to give her last name for fear of retaliation against federal workers in her household.
“They’re not going to hurt me,” she said.
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Emily’s husband has 30 years’ vested federal service, and her son works for a federal contractor. Her son called her recently and said he was directed to remove the word “equity” from his work. The story disturbed Emily, who is white and said her husband and children are Black.
“If I don’t do this, I’ll stay home and cry,” she said from the overpass.
For two hours, protesters pumped their fists and roared each time a driver beeped at them as if to say, “I agree with you.”
Baicich said the validation goes both ways. Every honk means somebody is connecting. To him, the demonstration wasn’t limited to the 40 people on the overpass. The drivers participated too.
When the rally ended at 6:15 p.m., people on the overpass pulled down their banners, picked up their trash and headed home.
“We feel better,” said Baicich, adding that perhaps the drivers felt a little better too.
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