Thousands of protestors gathered at the Parkman Bandstand in Boston Common on Saturday for the “Hands Off!” rally and march.The event comes as part of nationwide demonstrations in opposition to President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk and the federal government’s actions on government downsizing, the economy, human rights and other issues.Organizers include the Indivisible Mass Coalition, Mass 50501, Swing Blue Alliance, UU Mass Action and ACLU of Massachusetts, who described themselves as “a coalition of Massachusetts resistance groups” who are ” taking to the streets to protect democracy” and Boston residents “regardless of their race, gender, sexuality, origin, background, status, disability, religion or lack thereof.””The federal administration thinks this country belongs to them — and that they’re above the law,” organizers said. “They’re taking everything they can get their hands on — our rights, our health care, our data, our jobs, our services — and daring the world to stop them.”Organizers also quoted Boston Mayor Michelle Wu from her State of the City speech last month, 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.”Speakers included Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Lit. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Asian Pacific Islander’s Civic Action Network Director Jaya Savita, ACLU Massachusetts Executive Director Carol Rose, AFC-CIO President Chrissy Lynch, AFT-MA President Jessica Tang, Am. Fed. Govt. Employees, Council 215 President Rich Couture, Trans Resistance Co-Founder Chastity Bowick, and Rising Hearts Athlete Advocate Kyle Ariel Bemis. Additionally, the Dropkick Murphys and BVOCAL performed at the event.The event began at 11:00 a.m. at the Parkman Bandstand in the Boston Common with the first speaker speaking at 11:15 a.m. Protestors then marched to City Hall Plaza at 11:20 a.m. with speeches from the rest of the guest speakers beginning at 12:30 p.m. More than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations were planned by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and fair-elections activists. The protests are planned for the National Mall in Washington, D.C., state capitols and other locations in all 50 states.The White House did not return an email message seeking comment about the protests. Trump has promoted his policies as being in the best interest of the U.S.Protesters assailed the Trump administration’s moves to fire thousands of federal workers, close Social Security Administration field offices, effectively shutter entire agencies, deport immigrants, scale back protections for transgender people and cut federal funding for health programs.Musk, a Trump adviser who owns Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, has played a key role in government downsizing as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. He says he is saving taxpayers billions of dollars. Activists have staged nationwide demonstrations against Trump or Musk multiple times since the new administration took power.However, the opposition movement has yet to produce a mass mobilization like the Women’s March in 2017, which brought thousands of women to Washington, D.C., after Trump’s first inauguration, or the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that erupted in multiple cities after George Floyd’s killing in 2020.Organizers said they hope Saturday’s demonstrations will be the largest since Trump returned to office in January.
The event comes as part of nationwide demonstrations in opposition to President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk and the federal government’s actions on government downsizing, the economy, human rights and other issues.
Organizers include the Indivisible Mass Coalition, Mass 50501, Swing Blue Alliance, UU Mass Action and ACLU of Massachusetts, who described themselves as “a coalition of Massachusetts resistance groups” who are ” taking to the streets to protect democracy” and Boston residents “regardless of their race, gender, sexuality, origin, background, status, disability, religion or lack thereof.”
“The federal administration thinks this country belongs to them — and that they’re above the law,” organizers said. “They’re taking everything they can get their hands on — our rights, our health care, our data, our jobs, our services — and daring the world to stop them.”
Organizers also quoted Boston Mayor Michelle Wu from her State of the City speech last month, 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.”
Speakers included Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Lit. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Asian Pacific Islander’s Civic Action Network Director Jaya Savita, ACLU Massachusetts Executive Director Carol Rose, AFC-CIO President Chrissy Lynch, AFT-MA President Jessica Tang, Am. Fed. Govt. Employees, Council 215 President Rich Couture, Trans Resistance Co-Founder Chastity Bowick, and Rising Hearts Athlete Advocate Kyle Ariel Bemis. Additionally, the Dropkick Murphys and BVOCAL performed at the event.
The event began at 11:00 a.m. at the Parkman Bandstand in the Boston Common with the first speaker speaking at 11:15 a.m. Protestors then marched to City Hall Plaza at 11:20 a.m. with speeches from the rest of the guest speakers beginning at 12:30 p.m.
More than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations were planned by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and fair-elections activists. The protests are planned for the National Mall in Washington, D.C., state capitols and other locations in all 50 states.
The White House did not return an email message seeking comment about the protests. Trump has promoted his policies as being in the best interest of the U.S.
Protesters assailed the Trump administration’s moves to fire thousands of federal workers, close Social Security Administration field offices, effectively shutter entire agencies, deport immigrants, scale back protections for transgender people and cut federal funding for health programs.
Musk, a Trump adviser who owns Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, has played a key role in government downsizing as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. He says he is saving taxpayers billions of dollars.
Activists have staged nationwide demonstrations against Trump or Musk multiple times since the new administration took power.
However, the opposition movement has yet to produce a mass mobilization like the Women’s March in 2017, which brought thousands of women to Washington, D.C., after Trump’s first inauguration, or the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that erupted in multiple cities after George Floyd’s killing in 2020.
Organizers said they hope Saturday’s demonstrations will be the largest since Trump returned to office in January.
