‘Hands Off!’ Protests Across the U.S. Show Growing Opposition to Trump and Musk’s ‘Hostile Takeover’

Protesters attend a “Hands Off” rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC on April 5, 2025. Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

Millions of people in all 50 states and across the world participated in 1,400 Hands Off! protests on Saturday against the actions and policies of President Donald Trump and senior advisor Elon Musk.

At state capitals, federal buildings, congressional offices, city halls, parks and Social Security’s headquarters, people gathered by the thousands to demand a stop to what Hands Off! called a “billionaire power grab,” reported CNN.

“We are facing a national crisis. Our democracy, our livelihoods, and our rights are all on the line as Trump and Musk execute their illegal takeover,” Hands Off said on its website. “This is not just corruption. This is not just mismanagement. This is a hostile takeover.”

Almost 600,000 people were said to have signed up to attend the Hands Off! events, which were held in major cities like Paris, London and New York, as well as smaller cities and towns — from Asheville, North Carolina, to Frankfort, Kentucky.

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Indivisible led the movement alongside a nationwide coalition of civil rights organizations, women’s rights groups, LGBTQ+ advocates, veterans and labor unions.

The three demands put forth by the Hands Off! organizers are “an end to the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump administration; an end to slashing federal funds for Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs working people rely on; and an end to the attacks on immigrants, trans people, and other communities.”

Those demonstrating showed their support of national parks, public education, abortion rights, health care for veterans, small business, fair elections and many other causes. They were there to march against oligarchs, fascism, the deportation of immigrants, dark money and the Department of Government Efficiency, The New York Times reported.

“Pouring rain, 43 degrees, biting wind, and people are still here in Albany in the thousands,” said comic book writer Ron Marz, who posted a crowd photo from the New York State Capitol on X.

Saturday’s protest on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue stretched for almost 20 blocks. Tens of thousands engulfed the Washington Monument, thousands flooded Chicago’s Daley Plaza and, in Atlanta, more than 20,000 marched to the statehouse, according to a police estimate.

Meanwhile, Trump was in Florida playing golf, appearing to largely ignore the outcries against his administration.

People join a “Hands Off!” protest against the Trump administration in Riverside, California on April 5, 2025. David McNew / Getty Images

Veteran Trump protesters in Denver said there was a smaller Latino presence at this weekend’s demonstration than at those during Trump’s first term.

“You notice there’s not a lot of Chicano people out here? It’s because people are scared,” said 49-year-old Brian Loma, an environmental organizer who had set up a tent to sell hot chocolate, as reported by The New York Times.

Loma said it seemed like the government was “ripping up green cards. It’s crazy.”

At the New York City protest, former special education teacher Melissa Jackson said, “New York, the United States, is the melting pot. Like, what do we want? Like, not diversity, not inclusion?”

Jackson added that she was concerned about the government’s cuts to public education.

“We’ve come too far to take so many steps back,” she said.

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