- The Hands Off protests, occurring at over 1,000 locations, target the Trump administration and a wide range of issues including education, health care and Social Security.
- Nearly 200 partner organizations are supporting the nationwide protests, including Third Act, Women's March, Move On, Democratic Socialists of America and Planned Parenthood.
- The White House has rescheduled Saturday's Spring Garden Tours to Sunday "out of an abundance of caution" due to protests in D.C.
In over 1,000 cities, including at all 50 state capitols, the U.S. Capitol and in Puerto Rico, people unhappy with the Trump administration are gathering to protest “everything” on Saturday.
Organizers say at least 250,000 people across the country have RSVP’d so far, per Axios.
The nationwide protests have been organized under the slogan “Hands Off.”
The Hands Off website describes the goals of the protest: “Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them.”
The site continues, “They’re taking everything they can get their hands on, and daring the world to stop them. On Saturday, April 5th, we’re taking to the streets nationwide to fight back with a clear message: Hands off!”
Utah protest locations include St. George, Kanab, Bluff, Monticello, Moab, Provo, Logan and Salt Lake City.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke about the protests to USA Today. “Anyone who thinks protests, lawsuits and lawfare will deter President Trump must have been sleeping under a rock for the past several years,” she said.
Leavitt continued, “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.”
What specifically is being protested?
The Michigan radio station, WKZO, brought local organizers Troy Zukowski and Denise Miller on to discuss what the Hands Off protest is about.
“It’s concerned citizens across the country who are really just coming together to say, ‘Hey, hands off our education department, our social security checks, our right to free speech, our right to assemble,’ — a whole list of things,“ Miller said.
Zukowski added to Miller’s list, citing several other things he wants Trump’s administration to not change. “Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, jobs, wallets, books, free elections, personal data, public lands, veteran services, cancer research, NATO, consumer protections, clean air, schools, libraries, free speech and civil rights,” he said.
There will also be dozens of protests at Social Security offices around the country, Alex Lawson said while appearing on an episode of Ladies Love Politics. Lawson is the president of the political advocacy group, Social Security Works.
Lawson’s organization, along with 197 others, is listed on the event’s sponsor page.
Who are the groups behind it?
Of the nearly 200 partners listed by Hands Off, notable groups include Third Act, 50501, Indivisible, Women’s March, Move On, Democratic Socialists of America, Patriotic Millionaires, Tax the Greedy Billionaires, Color of Change and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
Several Democratic politicians will speak at the Washington, D.C., rally, including Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Rep Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.
Other speakers at the Washington rally include Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees; Sara Haghdoosti, executive director of Win Without War; Greisa Martinez Rosas, executive director of United We Dream; Rachel Carmona, executive director of Women’s March; and Leah Greenberg, executive director of Indivisible.
Protests lead to White House modifying garden tours
A press release from the first lady’s office announced that all Spring Garden Tours that had previously been scheduled for Saturday will be rescheduled for Sunday.
“This decision has been made out of an abundance of caution and to ensure the safety of all within proximity to public demonstrations planned near the White House on Saturday, April 5, 2025,” the release stated.
Trump is in Florida for the weekend, where he is attending a golf tournament.