Key speakers say some 26,000 attendees turn out for Fighting Oligarchy tour stop Tuesday
A city more accustomed to business commerce, housing growth, and a rodeo rather than national political rallies found itself in the spotlight Tuesday as thousands flocked to Folsom Lake College for a large-scale event headlined by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The event not only filled the campus athletic field but also brought many to the streets surrounding the college to demonstrate their support—or opposition—for the speakers and the movement they represent.
The rally, part of the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, marked a rare political moment for Folsom—drawing one of the largest organized single crowds the city has seen. The college’s athletic field became the setting for a series of speeches focused on economic inequality, labor rights, and government accountability, with attendees arriving from across the region to take part. According to Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders, some 26,000 people were in attendance; however, the official numbers had not yet been confirmed Tuesday night.
Originally scheduled for the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn, the event was relocated to Folsom just days prior due to rising attendance projections. Parking lots at the college and surrounding businesses quickly filled, and attendees parked throughout nearby commercial centers and residential neighborhoods. Many walked long distances to reach the venue.
Folsom Police, in coordination with the Los Rios Police Department and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, implemented traffic control measures and temporary road closures. Despite a great deal of congestion, no major incidents were reported.
Ocasio-Cortez Delivers Her Firebrand Speech
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took the stage to strong applause, opening her remarks with what she called a sweeping indictment of concentrated wealth and political influence.
“We are here together because an extreme concentration of power, greed, and corruption is taking over our country like never before. Oligarchy,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
She continued, “We are watching as our neighbors, students, and friends are being fired, targeted, and disappeared. It is real. People we love are being targeted and harassed just for being LGBTQ. Our coworkers, U.S. citizens and immigrants alike, are being disappeared off the street by men in vans with no uniform.”
Ocasio-Cortez tied these social issues directly to economic imbalance. “The destruction of our rights and our democracy is directly tied to the growing and extreme wealth inequality that has been building in America for years,” she said.
“Oligarchy or democracy, but we cannot have both,” she added.
Early in the event, a plane flew overhead displaying a banner that read “Folsom is Trump country.” Ocasio-Cortez addressed the crowd shortly thereafter. “They said Folsom is Trump Country—it sure don’t look like it today. I don’t think this is Trump Country; I think this is our country.”
She also delivered her share of pointed remarks about President Donald Trump in her address. “Donald Trump is a criminal. He was found guilty of 34 felony counts of fraud, liable for sexual abuse. Of course he is lying and manipulating the stock market too,” she said among her talking points.
Ocasio-Cortez closed with a call to action. “We don’t have to live like this anymore, Folsom. We can make a new world, Folsom—a better country where we fight for the dignity of all people. It is standing together without exception to reject division. That is the only way that we can win.”
Sanders Closes the Show, Calls Out Local Representative
Senator Bernie Sanders followed with a speech centered on economic inequality, wages, and healthcare. “We, as Americans, will not accept oligarchy. We will not accept authoritarianism. And we will not accept a rigged economy where working people struggle while billionaires become richer,” Sanders said.
He cited Elon Musk as an example of wealth concentration. “Elon Musk owns more wealth than the bottom 50% of households in America. That, brothers and sisters, is insane.”
“We have got to create an economy that works for working people, not just Mr. Musk and the billionaire class,” he said.
Sanders proposed reallocating federal priorities. “Maybe instead of spending a trillion dollars a year on the military, what about building five million units of low-income and affordable housing?” he asked.
“Over the last 52 years, the average American worker today, in inflation-accounted-for dollars, is earning less than he or she did back then,” he said. “It is time to raise the minimum wage to a living wage.”
On healthcare, he added, “We remain the only major country on Earth not to guarantee healthcare to all people as a human right. We have a healthcare system which is broken, dysfunctional, and cruel.”
Sanders then turned his focus to local representation, naming U.S. Congressman Kevin Kiley.
“Now, you’ve got a congressman here whose name is Kevin Kiley. So I don’t know if Mr. Kiley is watching the livestream or not,” Sanders said. “Well, Mr. Kiley, I think some of your constituents have a message for you: Don’t vote to give tax breaks to billionaires and cut programs that the working class of this country desperately needs.”
He added, “And by the way, Mr. Kiley, I have a feeling that some of your constituents would love to sit down and chat with you on that issue.”
Sanders continued, “Just look at what Republicans in Congress have been quietly doing. They have been voting to advance cuts on hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid and veterans’ benefits so they can take that money and give it to their donor class—all in the form of paying for tax cuts for the rich and sweetheart government contracts for their companies like SpaceX. And Folsom, you know who voted for that, by the way? The man who represents you right here in Congress, Kevin Kiley.”
“Kevin Kiley knows that this is not what you want. He knows that it is deeply unpopular. He knows that it hurts the people of Folsom. But he is not there to serve working families. He is there to serve himself and the billionaire class that put him there,” Sanders said.
Additional Speakers Address State and Labor Issues
Jane Kim, California Director of the Working Families Party, opened the rally with a focus on California’s cost-of-living concerns. “I’m tired of reading a headline of another greedy billionaire corporation attacking everyday Americans,” she said. “This party imagines a California which invests in affordable homes, fights for clean air and water, and a state where neighbors can walk into a hospital and get care.”
California Labor Federation President Lorena Gonzalez spoke on behalf of organized labor. “Which side are you on?” she asked. “Are you on the side of the workers breaking our backs to make ends meet… or are you on the side of corporate oligarchs who bust unions, suppress wages, and exploit profits off the sweat of our labor?”
Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, criticized efforts to weaken federal worker protections. “They want you to believe that—after having been around for over nine decades, through wars and terrorist attacks and pandemics—our union is suddenly a threat to national security. Let’s be clear: they don’t want to get rid of our union because of safety or security. It’s retaliation,” Kelley said.
“This isn’t just about federal workers,” he added. “This is about every American. If they succeed in silencing us, what’s to stop them from silencing you next?”
Support or Oppose, Both Parties Share the Streets
While the rally drew thousands of supporters, it also prompted a visible response from demonstrators opposed to its message. Groups gathered throughout the afternoon along East Bidwell Street and near Broadstone Marketplace, waving flags and holding signs.
Keith Dawson, wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat and Trump-branded shirt, was among those present. “This isn’t about oligarchy—this is about socialism trying to creep into our community,” Dawson said. “We need to support capitalism, our Constitution, and real freedom, not this kind of agenda.”
Inside the event, signs and flags were prohibited. Many Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez supporters wore campaign apparel instead. Donna Hayes, wearing a Bernie Sanders T-shirt and Democratic Party pins, told Folsom Times as she waited in line that she attended to support a cause that aligned with her values. “I came here because Bernie and AOC are standing up for people like me—working people who feel like we’ve been somewhat left behind these days financially,” Hayes said.
Security was managed by Los Rios Community College Police with the assistance of multiple law enforcement agencies, and the rally concluded peacefully as the sun set. Food trucks, water stations, and field seating accommodations were provided throughout the afternoon and evening.
The “Fighting Oligarchy” tour continues in additional cities over the coming weeks. Organizers say the goal is to “elevate conversations around economic reform and to engage communities ahead of the next election cycle,” which includes the upcoming mid terms.
Copyright © 2025, Folsom Times, a digital product of All Town Media LLC. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
