Hundreds of thousands of Americans turned out Saturday for “Hands Off” protests held at more than 1,200 locations across the country, including in Philadelphia and the suburbs.
While the crowd that marched from City Hall to Independence Hall in Philadelphia numbered in the thousands, about 150 or so protestors lined both sides of Fayette Street in Conshohocken. Their message echoed that heard from the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to the West Coast. They chanted, “Hands off democracy, Hands off America and Power to the people.”
The national protests were planned by the 50501 organization and were supported by a wide range of left-leaning groups, including the ACLU, Climate Action, Planned Parenthood, and the SEIU, a union that represents around one million government workers. The rallies targeted the Trump administration’s sweeping policy changes, including spending cuts, federal job layoffs, immigration crackdowns, and the influence of billionaire Elon Musk as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The “Hands Off” protest in Philadelphia on April 5, 2025.
(Photo from 50501 Philadelphia)
In Washington, D.C, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) spoke to a crowd estimated at around 100,000. “Our founders wrote a Constitution that did not begin with ‘We the dictators.’”
In Philadelphia, Democratic U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle told the crowd, “We must fight back and ensure every American knows how Republicans are betraying middle-class families. I look forward to standing alongside my Philadelphia neighbors to show Trump we won’t accept his far-right agenda.”
In Conshohocken, Ambler resident Karen Cole participated in the protest out of concerns over Trump’s potential abuse of power.
“I feel Trump is just taking control of everything,” Cole said. “There are no stop gaps anymore.” She said she’s also concerned about veterans’ care, the stock market and her 401K, and women’s rights. “I travel a lot, and people think America is going down the tubes,” Cole added.
There were also protests in Doylestown, Media, West Chester and other Delaware Valley communities.
“Hands Off” protest in West Chester, Pa. on April 5, 2025.
(Photo via Facebook)
Jane Herbert of Plymouth Meeting showed up because “I wanted to do something.”
“I’m horrified about what’s happening,” said Herbert. “Every day, it’s a different thing. The cruelty of the people pushing all this is just incredible.”
“It’s astonishing,” said Betsy Hargus of Chesterbrook. “I have a good friend who is British. She’s not a U.S. citizen. She has a green card. And she is afraid to come protest. That is a sad state of affairs. I just felt I wanted to do something.”
Also from Plymouth Meeting, Marion Dorfman said, “I feel like we have to do something. Our rights are all being threatened. We’re losing our democracy. We didn’t elect a king. Trump is destroying our country.” A former medical researcher, she is concerned about cuts in that area. “We’re on the threshold of an epidemic,” she said.
Plymouth Meeting resident Pat Volovnik said, “I’m very pro-choice. I think it’s a woman’s right to keep her child or abort it. It’s nobody’s business.” While the stock market fell on Friday, Trump “was golfing like Nero fiddling while the world burned,” Volovnik added.
Plymouth Meeting resident John Roberts said, “Trump ruined my life. Ever since he came on the scene.”
Asked what he meant, Roberts said he can’t understand how his sisters and others “could vote for somebody you wouldn’t want to be your father, your son or your husband. He is just an evil person. All I can think about is the people I love voting for that guy. I don’t understand.”
