Thousands of Washington state residents joined the fight against President Trump and Elon Musk, saying “Hands Off” medicare, social security, deportations, and veteran benefits. That message has been spread throughout America, with at least 40 protests scheduled in Washington state alone. 

The biggest “Hands Off” protest in Washington happened in Seattle on April 5 starting at noon. Protesters walked from a Tesla building on South Lake Union to the nearby Seattle Center, stopping right in front of the Space Needle. It’s estimated that the protests gathered a crowd of around 25,000 people all chanting the phrase, “Who saves us? We save us!” 

In attendance was Washington state’s seventh  district Congresswomen, Pramila Jayapal, who was one of 24 people scheduled to speak at the protest. During her speech Jayapal said, “When Elon Musk and Donald Trump come for our social security we say hands off. When Elon Musk and Donald Trump come for our immigrant community we say hands off. When they come for our trans siblings we say hands off. Hands off our bodies, our speech, our freedoms, our democracy.”

At the protest, different posters could be seen scattered through the waves of people reading things like: “Defund Musk, not the government”, “No Fascism in America!”, “No Kings”, “Hands off social security.” The posters are a clear reflection of the way that Americans are feeling at this time showing their distaste for President Trump’s and Musk’s behavior. 

Tensions have been high since President Trump and his administration have laid off thousands of federal workers, introduced higher tariffs, while consistently targeting the LGBTQ+ community, along with the ending of DEI programs, deporting immigrants, and closing social security offices.

Americans are enraged with his actions. Some even called his behavior since the 2024 presidential election ‘unconstitutional’. It doesn’t seem like they plan on taking this lightly, demanding President Trump and his partner Musk to keep their “hands off”. 

Citizens in all 50 states have organized more than 1,400 “Hands Off” protests throughout the country, drawing huge crowds in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Houston after being concerned with the different federal cuts that President Trump and his team have conducted while being in office. 

Support for the movement can be seen from not only the United States but around the globe, with “Hands Off” protests being held in different parts of the world including Canada, the UK, Mexico, France, and the Netherlands. 

Although thousands did attend the protest the number of people of color was few, since a lot of people of color chose to sit this one out. Many believe that they did their part having marched enough through the years. The lack of attendance can also be attributed to the strong fear that lingers in the black community when attending protests – fear of being targeted by police brutality. 

And with President Trump’s recent comments on people of color and DEI, that fear has only heightened. A lot of people of color don’t believe that it’s worth the risk that attending could have for them. There are other people of color that argue that no matter our history in America we still need to stand together as one. 

Though many protesters in attendance were shocked by the size of the crowd, as they were not expecting to see that many people show up. When Thunderword reporters asked when the last time they saw a crowd this big, they got a few different answers: The Women’s March of 2017 and the World Trade Organization Protest in the ’90s. 

One protester even ran into unexpected faces saying, “Yeah, I’ve met some of my students here and it’s surprising.”

The protest was peaceful with no reported injuries or acts of violence being made. There was also no reported arrests made at the protest.