OMAHA — Thousands of protesters took to Dodge Street and Memorial Park in a wave of national demonstrations Saturday and a companion protest in Lincoln opposing the recent actions of the federal government with the hope of instilling change locally and nationally.
Protesters gather in central Omaha’s Memorial Park, across Dodge Street from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, on Saturday, April 5, 2025. (Courtesy of Lucy Mason/The Gateway)
The local “Hands Off!” protests were part of about 1,400 demonstrations organized against President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk. The two-hour Omaha rally along Dodge Street and South Happy Hollow Boulevard involved nearly 1,000 protesters, many of whom showed up with signs, chants and common goals.
Protest organizers said in a statement online that the mass mobilization was a “message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of our government and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies.”
The rallies targeted the Trump administration’s immigration policies and the Department of Government Efficiency’s approach to cutting and pausing spending on healthcare, services, jobs and access to personal data held by the government.
Two pro-democracy organizations, Like-Minded Friends and 50501 worked with local partisans and others to pull together the event. They assembled a lineup of local and state political figures to speak in Memorial Park.
Former and possibly future U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn of Omaha speaks to the crowd gathered at Memorial Park in Omaha on Saturday, April 5, to protest the government spending cuts and other actions by the Trump administration. (Courtesy of Lucy Mason/The Gateway)
The lineup included registered nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn, who reaffirmed that he is weighing a run against Pete Ricketts for Senate in 2026 and Omaha Mayoral Candidate John Ewing Jr, a Democrat running against incumbent Republican Mayor Jean Stothert on May 13.
Ewing, a former Maverick who also taught at UNO’s College of Public Affairs and Community Service, mentioned the importance of voting and civic engagement to “have the democracy that our forefathers imagined.”
“I think it’s always critically important that people take an active role in their government,” Ewing said. “When they don’t, then we end up with what we’re seeing across the country right now, with the chaos, the fear, the uncertainty, the hatred and everything that is diametrically opposed to what America is supposed to stand for.”
Douglas County Democratic Party Chair CJ King said the demonstration “was a show of force” to help people realize they can make a change locally and nationally.
“I think there’s a lot of people that just don’t like the direction we’re going in,” King said. “People need to come out and recognize that you can’t sit alone and be despondent and have anxiety and fear. We come together and we have hope and an opportunity.”
Douglas County Republican Party Chairwoman Nancy Hicks, responding to the protests, acknowledged the concerns of the protesters but said she and the party support the actions of the federal government.
Billionaire Elon Musk, left accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and Musk’s son, X Musk, speaks during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Hicks said she believes Medicare and Medicaid “lose billions annually to improper payments.” She questioned why citizens wouldn’t want government expenditures to be examined “to make sure they actually are functioning as designed.”
“The Douglas County Republican Party, aligning with Trump and Musk, agree that the focus is on preserving these programs by rooting out misuse, fraud and waste, not necessarily dismantling them,” Hicks said.
Along with congregating in Memorial Park, protesters lined both sides of Dodge Street and the overpass. The sound of car horns blared as drivers held fists and signs out their windows in support.
Some posters said, “Hands off our democracy.” Others said, “Stop the chaos.” Another said, “Elect a clown, elect a circus.” Many said they backed democracy.
UNO student Calvin Snyder attended the protest with his family and expressed worry for his future education, mentioning the federal government’s focus on dismantling the federal Department of Education.
The Dodge Street overpass is a common place for protesters to gather. It was full again on Saturday, April 5, 2025. (Courtesy of Lucy Mason/The Gateway)
“It feels like people are finally realizing that they are not alone in this,” Snyder said. “They are angry, and they are feeling the brunt of these terrible policies and that they can do something about it. I think this is a moment of awakening in a lot of America.”
Creighton University theology professor Susan Calef voiced distress about “the loss of democracy” and the failure of the checks and balances system. Having attended previous demonstrations, she said the people “have got to come together.”
“When you watch the news on a daily basis, it’s grim and very distressing. So to be together with other people and mobilizing like this really helps,” Calef said.
Protesters line up in front of the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln on Saturday, April 5, to protest DOGE and other spending cuts and actions at the federal level. (Courtesy of Deb Burner)
Omaha citizen Jean Zinnen attended the protest with her 15-year-old granddaughter, holding up signs along Dodge Street. Zinnen said the importance of protesting was so her granddaughter’s voice could be “heard and respected.”
“I am here because democracy is at risk,” Zinnen said. “I have friends, so many friends in marginalized communities. I have a trans niece, gay family members, and this is just horrifying. My granddaughter is protesting for her future.”
Omaha citizen Dawn Marie Hart was one of the first protesters to arrive, bringing a banner and dangling it on the overpass. Hart said she was 64 and has “never felt so strong about anything in [her] life.”
“I think the power of the people speaks a lot,” Hart said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re Republican or Democrat or what[ever] they are. He made promises, and he didn’t keep them. Now we have to fight to get everything back.”
This article first appeared in The Gateway, the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s independent campus newspaper.
