By Isaiah Grady
Protesters standing outside the museum of history with a sign condemning Elon Musk. Photo by Isaiah Grady
On Saturday, April 5, over 1,000 protests across all 50 states flared up between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thousands of people gathered together in cities like New York, Chicago, and Raleigh to condemn the recent policies of the second administration of President Donald Trump . This is a continuation of the protests seen earlier this semester in February and March.
This particular event was dubbed the “Hands Off” movement and saw groups like “505001” team up with local state organizations like the “Indivisables” here in NC to organize this event. So far, this was the largest demonstration with a wider reach than the ones prior. More than 600,000 people officially signed the RSVP that was posted online, but some sources say the number of attendees reached over a million, according to a report by CNN Today.
A Proster stands beside her grandmother in front of the Museum of Natural Science. Photo by Isaiah Grady
Here in Raleigh, a crowd of over 4,000 people gathered between the two museums on Jones Street and spilled over into the lawn of the Capitol building, according to NC Newsline. Pacers could be found among the protesters. A 1971 alum and former Peace Time’s editor, Jay Taylor, was present at this gathering.
“I’m fighting for my grandchildren, for your grandchildren,” Taylor said. She also noted that she had not seen activity like this since the women’s March in 2017.
Current students like Anneliesse Habrison, a senior, attended this protest. Her goal was to spread the message that the new White House administration has overreached.
“Just like, hand’s off,” Habrison said. “Obviously they’re trying to touch social security, peoples 401k, like stuff people need to survive.”
Students in COM 108, a documentary class with Roger Christman, witnessed a demonstration in Durham while attending the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.
Conner Singleton, a senior majoring in simulation and game design, had to walk through the crowds during the class trip to the festival. Singleton had never experienced a protest in person.
“There were people that were holding signs that said “fascist” and like, ‘immigrants are Americans too’,” Singleton said.
Singleton said that despite the crowds’ loud chants, they remained civil.
“It was extremely peaceful, they were letting traffic through, nobody was getting in peoples faces,” said Singleton.
Group of men standing outside of the legislative building. Photo by Jordan France
The “Hands Off” event was a melting pot of various issues. Most of the grievances are directed toward DOGE, the controversial government agency that has come under fire for dozens of decisions ranging from cuts to child cancer research funding to the mass reduction of international humanitarian aid in third world countries/
The agency has also attempted to fire thousands of federal employees and other executive agencies such as the Department of Labor, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Veteran Affairs .
Many of the cuts have come under legal scrutiny. According to an CBS article, district judge Theodore Chuang attempted to halt DOGE’s cuts to various federal agencies such as Veteran Affairs and U.S. Aid. Judge Chuang also said funding cuts were not approved by the respective agencies.
Protesters also condemned Trump’s economic policies. He recently announced a range of tariffs for over 90 countries ranging from 10% to 48%. Shortly after this the DOW to drop more than 1,000 points, according to CNN. Trump paused some of the tariffs; however China, struck back adding 84% and now 124% tariffs to American imports. Trump has responded by adding 20 points to his 125% tariff’s in response.
Many market commentators like MarketWatch and the Tax Foundation have said that these tariffs could hurt consumers in the long term. Some go as far as to say that the USA dollar may decrease in value.
A female protester sounds a rallying cry at the April 5 protest in Downtown Raleigh. Photo by Jordan France
With the economy on shaky ground and more controversies on the rise, it does not seem as though the protests will be slowing down anytime soon. The coalition of activist groups have slated the next protest for April 19.