Protesters donned costumes, played musical instruments, and chanted as they filled the streets of downtown Los Angeles Saturday — as part of the nationwide “Hands Off!” demonstrations against the Trump administration’s tariffs, mass layoffs of federal workers, program cuts, and deportations of immigrants.
Demonstrators held signs saying “Resist,” “Hands Off My 401K!” “Eggs Are Too Expensive. Eat the Rich,” and “No Kings. No Tyrants. No Oligarchy.”
Speaker after speaker denounced President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, in a live stream provided by Reuters.
“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,” organizer Emily Williams said from the podium.
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When Williams polled the crowd, attendees said they were from L.A., San Diego, Long Beach, Burbank, and other communities across Southern California.
At one point, a man who appeared mentally ill began shouting, claimed he was being assaulted, and briefly disrupted a veteran who was speaking about how cuts to the V.A. system were affecting people in need of care.
The gathering began at 4 p.m. local time in Pershing Square. After about an hour of speeches, the group began marching through the streets.
“Hey, hey. Ho, ho, Donald Trump has got to go!” protesters chanted, adding: “Whose streets? Our streets!”
Other April 5th “Hands Off!” rallies on the West Coast were held at the Space Needle in Seattle; San Francisco’s Civic Center; as well as in Oakland and Berkeley.
The Oaklandside reported many of the protesters at the Oakland gathering were union members, students, and retirees worried about their pensions or Social Security benefits.
San Pablo resident Anna Villalobos told the outlet she was a postal worker for 38 years. Villalobos said she attended the Oakland rally because she fears Trump will try to privatize the postal service.
“The postal service is not for profit, it’s for service,” Villalobos said.
Meantime, the Associated Press reported protesters from “New York to Alaska” took to the streets to speak out against Trump and Musk.
The news agency said 150 groups — including Civil Rights organizations, labor unions, LGBTQ advocates, veterans and elections activists — organized more than 1,200 protests in all 50 states.
The massive rallies were peaceful with no major reports of problems. Still, the White House downplayed the demonstrations.
“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.
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