In the largest show of resistance since President Donald Trump’s return to office, demonstrators rallied across more than 1,200 U.S. locations Saturday, unleashing a powerful wave of public dissent under the banner of “Hands Off!”
Organized by a coalition of over 150 groups, spanning civil rights organizations, labor unions, LGBTQ+ advocates, veterans, and election reformers, the protests marked a flashpoint in an opposition movement seeking to reclaim momentum after the jolting first weeks of the Republican administration.
From the steps of the National Mall and Boston Common to city centers in Seattle, Columbus, and Charlotte, thousands marched against what they see as an administration bent on dismantling key pillars of American governance and civil rights, AP reported. Protesters targeted President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, now serving as head of the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency — over a sweeping campaign of federal downsizing and aggressive policy rollbacks.
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Placards reading “Fight the Oligarchy” and “Hands Off Our Democracy” were hoisted high in a sea of defiance. In Seattle, the crowd gathered under the Space Needle, voicing fury at mass layoffs, shuttered Social Security field offices, transgender protections being stripped, deportations rising, and public health programs slashed.
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Musk, a close Trump ally and CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and the social media platform X, has played a central role in the administration’s push to “streamline government.” He insists he’s saving taxpayers billions. Protesters say he’s gutting democracy.
“The attacks we’re seeing aren’t just political — they’re personal,” said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, speaking to a roaring crowd in Washington, D.C. “They’re banning our books, slashing HIV funding, criminalizing our doctors, our families, our lives. We don’t want this America — we want the one we deserve, where dignity and safety belong to everyone.”
In Boston, demonstrators echoed those sentiments with signs reading “Hands off our Social Security” and “Hands off our rights.” Mayor Michelle Wu delivered an impassioned address: “I refuse to accept a future where immigrants like my parents are treated as threats. Where equality is under siege. My kids deserve better — and so do yours.”
In Columbus, Ohio, Roger Broom, 66, a self-described former Reagan Republican, said he’d lost faith in the party. “Trump’s just tearing the country apart,” he said. “It’s grievance after grievance — nothing constructive.”
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Palm Beach Gardens, Florida — just miles from Trump’s golf club in Jupiter also saw spirited turnout. Protesters lined PGA Drive as the president played in a club championship, chanting over honking car horns. “They need to keep their hands off Social Security,” said Archer Moran of Port St. Lucie. “And that’s just the start of the list.”
Despite the scale of protest, the White House downplayed the unrest. In a statement, it reiterated Trump’s pledge to protect Social Security and Medicare for “eligible beneficiaries,” while accusing Democrats of attempting to extend benefits to “illegal aliens” — a claim critics have widely refuted.
While demonstrations against Trump and Musk have taken place since the administration’s earliest days, Saturday’s turnout marked a return to mass mobilization reminiscent of the 2017 Women’s March or the 2020 Black Lives Matter uprising.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, protester Britt Castillo, 35, reflected a broader disillusionment. “Regardless of your politics, what’s happening is abhorrent,” she said. “The system may be broken — but this administration’s approach is breaking it even more. They’re not fixing anything. They’re not listening.”
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