Amherst Joins the Nation in Protesting Trump and Musk’s Assault on Democracy

More than three hundred people turned out on Amherst’s North Common on a cold, drizzly Saturday morning (4/5) to protest the agenda of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.  The rally was one of more than 1300 “Hands Off” rallies across all 50 states and beyond. 

The Massachusetts rallies were organized by Indivisible Mass Coalition, Mass 50501, Swing Blue Alliance, UU Mass Action, and 90 other organizations. In promoting the rallies, the organizers identified themselves as a coalition of Massachusetts resistance groups “who are “taking to the streets to protect democracy and residents regardless of their race, gender, sexuality, origin, background, status, disability, religion or lack thereof.”  They defined a burgeoning crisis of democracy as follows: “The federal administration thinks this country belongs to them — and that they’re above the law. They’re taking everything they can get their hands on — our rights, our healthcare, our data, our jobs, our services — and daring the world to stop them.”

The Amherst crowd was filled with homemade signs decrying the assault on the democratic order, the dismantling of the federal government by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the erosion of long-established civil rights, the attacks on immigrants and minorities, the economic crisis that has resulted from Trump’s far-reaching tariffs, and the growing embrace of fascism. Many signs followed the “Hands Off” theme proclaiming Hands Off our social security, our health care, our immigrants, our jobs, our universities. Both Ukrainian and Palestinian flags were visible as were signs protesting the ongoing genocidal wars in those countries.

State Representative Mindy Domb kicked off the rally. Speaking through a bullhorn, she exhorted the assembled to stand up for democracy and to condemn the actions of the current federal administration, and to work together to protect each other and our civil rights. She was followed with brief remarks by Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan and former State Representative Ellen Story.

Following the remarks by public officials, the crowd was led by Geoff Hudson in singing songs from the civil rights and anti-war movements. The crowd then marched around the North and main Town Commons.

“Hands Off” protests were also held in other Western Massachusetts communities including Easthampton, Granby, Greenfield, Haydenville, Northampton, Orange, and Shutesbury,

In Boston, tens of thousands of protestors gathered on the Boston Common, for a “Hands Off Boston” rally, that included participation of busloads of protestors from Western Massachusetts.  Organizers quoted Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s recent State of the City speech where she said, “No one tells Boston how to take care of our own, not kings, and not presidents who think they are kings” and “God save whoever messes with Boston.” 

Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey told the crowd, “We are here today to tell Donald Trump and Elon Musk hands off our rights, hands off our healthcare, hands off our jobs, hands off our social security.”

Many held signs calling for the release of detained Tufts doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk who was recently abducted off the streets of Boston by ICE agents and is slated for deportation.

The Drop Kick Murphys gave a lively performance.  Frontman Ken Casey, explained the band’s presence in a recent interview in the Boston Globe, saying, “No kings here. One man thinks he calls all the shots, and that’s not what he was elected for. He’s elected to be a public servant for all, and we’re here to speak up against that.”

Protests Across the Country
Tens of thousands of protestors also showed up for rallies in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Washington D.C. while smaller rallies happened in towns across all 50 states. Read accounts here, here, here, and here,  People on X (formerly Twitter) posted pictures of a massive rally in Salt Lake City, in the heart of red state Utah, with the comment, ” we’ve never seen anything like this.”

See photo galleries from Boston (here) and events across the nation here and here.