‘Hands Off’ protests begin across US to oppose Trump agenda – live | Protest
Key events
Protestors gather in London as part of anti-Trump rallies
Nadeem Badshah
Hundreds of protesters gathered in central London on Saturday as part of global demonstrations against Donald Trump’s administration.
Crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square with banners that read “No to Maga hate” and “Dump Trump”. The rally is one of hundreds of so-called “hands off” demonstrations around the world – including in cities across the US, Paris and Berlin. The movement has been organised by more than 150 groups, including civil rights groups and trade unions.
Among the protesters in London was Clarke Reinstein, 73, from Rhode Island, who told the PA news agency he was “disappointed in my fellow Americans” over the election of Donald Trump.
“I’ve been in London for two months and I like being over here because people think a little differently,” he said, adding, “They made a mistake over Brexit – but they didn’t fall over like the Americans have.”
A 37-year-old woman from Philadelphia was draped in the American flag that had been presented to her Second World War veteran grandfather.
The woman, who did not wish to be named, told PA she was protesting because of the “absolute, mind-blowing insipidness” of Trump’s presidency.
“I don’t want to alienate the rest of the world,” she said, addiing, “It’s not going to be useful for anyone in the long run. I felt powerless and I needed to come out and say something… I have friends in the United States who are marching in protest, and I wanted to march with them in solidarity.”
Brent Robertson, 56, from Albuquerque, criticised Trump’s tariffs. Robertson said: “Stupid is not the word… He is shooting himself and all of us as Americans, just so he can make himself look like a tough guy.”
Protesters hold signs as they join a "Hands Off!" demonstration against U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, at the Trafalgar Square, in London, Saturday, April 5, 2025. Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP
Maxwell Frost: 'Insidious rise of authoritarianism fueled by corrupt billionaires'
Maxwell Frost, Florida’s Democratic representatve, is now adddressing the crowd in Washington DC.
We see the foundations of our society, social security, Medicare, Medicaid, the very safety nets that people have fought for, for generations, to ensure that our country lives up to its promise, are being targeted by the billionaires and the oligarchs and the corporations.
This insidious rise of authoritarianism is fueled by corrupt billionaires and mega corporations who believe that they have the right to control every aspect of our lives, our healthcare, to our schools, to our thoughts, to our very free speech under the false banner of patriotism and freedom …
They would have us believe that if we gave them all the control, everything would be great, but breaking news: they had the control. And look at where we’re at right now: massive wealth and inequality in this country.
Jamie Raskin: 'We invite all Americans to...join the party in democracy and freedom'
Jamie Raskin went on to add:
We are not only the liberals who believe in liberty, we are not only the progressives who believe in progress. We are the conservatives who will defend the land, the air, the water, the climate system, the constitution, the Bill of Rights, social cecurity, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Civil Rights Act … the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Clean Water Act …
Everything that their party of nihilists and authoritarians wants to tear down in the next few weeks, we are going to conserve and defend for future generations of America.
We invite all Americans to join us, to join the party in democracy and freedom in solidarity.
Jamie Raskin is calling on the Donald Trump administration to keep its “hands off Greenland. That’s an independent country.”
Raskin adds:
Hands off Canada. That’s an independent country. Hands off Panama. That’s an independent country. Statehood for Washington, DC!”
Moving on, in a special shoutout to Wisconsin, which recently saw the liberal judge Susan Crawford’s victory over Elon Musk-backed Brad Schimel, Raskin said:
They showed America that organized people who want nothing but freedom can defeat organized billionaires.
Jamie Raskin, the Democratic representative of Maryland, is now addressing the crowd in Washington DC.
He said:
We’ve got the right to protest for what is right without being arrested, deported or fired. We’ve got the right to read the books we want, including 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale … We’ve even got the right to call the president deranged from crashing our economy, destroying $6tn of wealth and turning our 401(k)s into 201(k)s, and the press has the right to call the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico.
Criticizing the January 6 rioters, Raskin said:
These were monsters who turned the flag of America into a weapon of war against our police. And now, Donald Trump says he wants to set up a fund to compensate them. Mr Trump, if there’s got to be a fund to compensate people for January 6, we’re going to compensate the police officers and their families. We’re going to back the men and women of the blue, not the planners of the coup.
William Barber II, a professor in the practice of public theology and public policy at Yale Divinity School, just addressed the crowd in Washington DC.
Barber said:
“We are not going to bow to the power-drunk neo-fascist extremists. We only bow to God, and so we must stand tall when they attack everyday people… We must stand tall... So stand up to the technocrats. It’s time for our pulpits to stand tall. It’s time for statesmen…to stand tall. It’s time for the people to stand tall, we must mobilize our righteous bodies and our voices and our hearts by the millions.”
Protestors from across the country join Washington DC rally
Robert Tait
Demonstrators from as far afield as New Hampshire and Pennsylvania have gathered on Washington’s national monument, in the shadow of the George Washington memorial monument, in advance of the anti-Donald Trump Hands Off rally.
In overcast conditions, protesters displayed a vast array of placards and, in some cases, Ukrainian flags, expressing opposition to administration policies. Some protesters said they hoped the event - the first mass demonstration in Washington DC since Trump took office - would act as an example to inspire others to register opposition. “
The aim is get people to rise up,” said Diane Kolifrath, 63, who had travelled from New Hampshire with 100 fellow members of New Hampshire Forward, a civic society organisation.
“Many people are scared to protest against Trump because he has reacted aggressively and violently to those who have stood up. The goal of this protest is to let the rest of Americans who aren’t participating see that we are standing up and hopefully when they see our strength, that will give them the courage to also stand up,” Kolifrath said.
Here are some images coming through the newswires of the Hands Off protests in Washington DC:
The national in Washington DC. Photograph: Amid Farahi/AFP/Getty ImagesSandals and shoes representing Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in Gaza are displayed as anti-war protesters march toward the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Washington DC. Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/APThe national mall in Washington DC. Photograph: Amid Farahi/AFP/Getty ImagesThe national mall in Washington DC. Photograph: Amid Farahi/AFP/Getty Images
Several congressional members are expected to make apperances and deliver speeches at the Hands Off protest in Washington DC today.
They include Democrats Jamie Raskin and Glenn Ivey of Maryland, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Katherine Clark of Massachussetts and Don Beyer of Virginia, as well as Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
Good morning,
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of Washington DC and other major cities across the US in a show of defiance against Donald Trump’s “authoritarian overreach and billionaire-backed agenda”.
The “Hands Off” protests – of which more than 1,000 events are planned across the country – are expected to be the largest single day of action since Trump was sworn into office for a second term.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, MoveOn, one of the organizations planning the protests, said:
This is a nationwide mobilization to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history. Trump, Musk and their billionaire cronies are orchestrating an all-out assault on our government, our economy and our basic rights – enabled by Congress every step of the way.
It went on to add:
They want to strip America for parts – shuttering social security offices, firing essential workers, eliminating consumer protections and gutting Medicaid – all to bankroll their billionaire tax scam. They’re handing over our tax dollars, our public services and our democracy to the ultra-rich.
If we don’t fight now, there won’t be anything left to save.
Stay tuned as we bring you live updates throughout the day of the protests from across the country.
