‘Hands Off!’ anti-Trump protests expected to draw thousands nationwide
April 5 protest: Hands Off National Day of Action / Photo from handsoff2025.com
LOS ANGELES – A nationwide “Hands Off” day of protests against perceived threats to democracy under the Trump administration is set to be held on Saturday, April 5.
Thousands are expected to attend rallies across all 50 states to protest the Trump administration’s steep tariffs, program cuts and mass layoffs of federal workers, which organizers say are threatening essential public services, damaging social safety nets, causing higher prices and plunging financial markets.
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In downtown Los Angeles, demonstrators say they will carry a 20-foot balloon of the image of President Donald Trump wearing a diaper and another 15-foot-tall helium-filled balloon representing Trump wearing a Russian military uniform.
Protesters are set to march along a nearly mile-long stretch of sidewalks and streets, beginning with a rally at Pershing Square at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Speakers expected at a City Hall early evening rally include actress Jodie Sweetin and comedian Francesa Fiorentini.
“We’re barely two months into Trump’s chaos and the country is reeling from his reckless firing of millions of workers, the breaking up of tens of thousands of families, and plans to gut funding to our health care and Social Security,” says organizer Emily Williams.
“It doesn’t matter what your political party is, nearly everyone is being harmed by these punishing decisions and we’re here to oppose the destruction of these programs that millions of Americans rely on every day.”
At least 100 protests and marches are planned throughout the region Saturday, including events in Glendale, Riverside and Santa Ana. Organizations expected to be represented include ACLU, 50501 SoCal, Greenpeace, League of Women Voters, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Working Families Power, according to the Hands Off! website.
Trump has yet to personally comment on what organizers are calling a “mass mobilization day,” but the White House announced it is rescheduling one of its annual spring garden tour dates Saturday due to the large anti-Trump demonstration expected to take place near 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
“Anyone who thinks protests, lawsuits, and lawfare will deter President Trump must have been sleeping under a rock for the past several years,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to USA Today.
“President Trump will not be deterred from delivering on the promises he made to make our federal government more efficient and more accountable to the hardworking American taxpayers across the country who overwhelmingly re-elected him.”
Los Angeles police and sheriff’s say they have no special plans to deal with the protests.
In San Diego, the largest local demonstration will happen at noon at the Civic Center Plaza just outside San Diego City Hall.
Local elected officials and community activists are expected to attend the rally, which will culminate with a march towards the Hall of Justice.
“San Diegans who are veterans, who are postal workers and teachers, who rely on Social Security, Medicaid or Medicare, and who are horrified at the Trump-Musk billionaire takeover of our government are coming together to protest the Trump administration’s attacks on the rights and services they depend upon, many of them for survival” said Angela Benson, a member of the organizing coalition.
More information and a full list of locations nationwide can be found here.
(With CNS report)
