On Saturday, thousands of protesters across the United States took to the streets in what became the largest nationwide demonstration against President Donald Trump since he took office in January. Protestors turned up in large numbers at major American cities like Los Angeles, Boston, Washington DC etc.
Organised by left-leaning groups, the ‘Hands Off’ protests condemned what they described as Trump’s “authoritarian overreach and billionaire-backed agenda”. According to the Guardian, organisers say that more than 500,000 or 5 lakh people joined the protests in Washington DC, Florida and elsewhere.
What are the Hands Off protests?
The Hands Off demonstrations were held in over 1,200 locations across all 50 US states, coordinated by more than 150 organisations including civil rights groups, labour unions, LGBTQ+ advocates, veterans, and election reform activists, the Associated Press reported. The rallies remained peaceful, with no immediate reports of arrests.
Protestors criticised US President Donald Trump and his supporter Elon Musk’s policies on government downsizing, the economy, immigration and human rights.
The protestors held up signs and placards protesting the Trump-Musk administration. In Seattle, for example, protesters carried signs bearing slogans such as “Fight the oligarchy.” In other cases, the Ukrainian flag was displayed by protesters.
Chants of “hands off Canada”, “hands off Greenland” and “hands off Ukraine” were heard in some places.
The goal of the protests
American politician and executive director of the non-profit organization Indivisible said the goal of the Hands Off demonstrations is to send a message to the Trump administration.
“We want to send a signal to all people and institutions that have been showing anticipatory obedience to Trump and showing they are willing to bend the knee that there is, in fact, a mass public movement that’s willing to rise up and stop this,” said Leah Greenberg, according to The Guardian.
“If our political leaders stand up, we will have their backs. We want them to stand up and protect the norms of democracy and want them to see that there are people out there who are willing to do that. The goal of this is building a message.”
