On Wednesday, April 16, some 7,500 people filled the University of Montana’s Adams Center to hear Sen. Bernie Sanders, the two-time presidential candidate from Vermont, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and rising star in the House, speak in Missoula. The gathering concluded a five-day Mountain West swing, part of the broader, ongoing “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, which began in February.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are tapping into a rising wave of resentment toward President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, portraying them as the product of a system rigged in favor of the ultra-wealthy, and calling out Musk as he and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency gut federal agencies and cut federal programs and jobs.
Inside the Adams Center, Sanders called poverty “a death sentence” and blasted the influence of billionaires in politics. Ocasio-Cortez urged Democrats to quit playing it safe. “We’re not here to triangulate,” she said. “We’re here to win.” Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and a rising force in the labor movement, spoke about the power of solidarity in the face of corporate consolidation. Missoula’s own psychedelic rock band Cosmic Sans kicked things off, setting a high-energy tone that carried through the whole event.
When the arena filled to capacity more than 1,000 people, it appeared, were left to linger outside. To their surprise, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez came out to speak directly to the overflow crowd.
Local groups like the Montana Federation of Public Employees and the University of Montana Young Democratic Socialists of America helped make the event happen. Volunteers worked the lines with clipboards, handed out flyers, and signed up new voters before the speakers took the stage. A few counter-protesters set up across the walking bridge, but the energy was firmly centered at the Adams Center.
Photographer John Stember was in the thick of it, capturing the speeches and the mood of an activated and diverse crowd.
“There’s a lot of dissatisfaction with the current administration. It’s really starting to affect students.”
—Elizabeth Kamminga
“I feel hope. It feels very rare to be in a group of almost 10,000 people in Montana that just give a shit about taking care of other people and the planet. It feels really good. I cried through the whole thing.”
—Ann Truesdell
“I feel pumped — the collective power of folks in Montana feeling frustrated about the state of the world right now.”
—Taylor Crowl
“We came here to see AOC. She’s a big inspiration.”
—Emmi Highness
“I really really hope eventually the message can cut through. … This isn’t about Democrat and Republican. This is about class solidarity. … And I appreciate that they criticized the Democratic Party as being just as corrupt with billionaires as anybody.”
—Val Stacey
“My granddaughters are little now and I want them to have the same reproductive rights as me.”
—Rachel Parra
“We do need to circle the wagons at this time to protect everything that we’re supposed to stand for as a country and as people.”
—Mark L.
“I appreciate them coming to Montana. … It’s refreshing to have something to bring so many people together who agree with much of what they have to say.”
—Madi Weisburg
