Thousands of protestors nationwide are expected to participate in a series of anti-Trump demonstrations on Saturday, April 5. The progressive coalition organizing the Hands Off! rallies has planned more than 1,000 events across the country for its National Day of Action, with a flagship protest slated to descend on DC.
As of Monday afternoon, a spokesperson for MoveOn—one of the advocacy groups leading the demonstrations—told Washingtonian that organizers anticipate about 12,500 protestors to attend the National Mall rally. Protestors are encouraged to gather at the Sylvan Theater around 11 AM, and the main program will begin at noon.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. They’re taking everything they can get their hands on, and daring the world to stop them,” the Hands Off! website reads. “On Saturday, April 5th, we’re taking to the streets nationwide to fight back with a clear message: Hands off!”
Maryland congressman Jamie Raskin will headline the roster of DC event speakers, which also includes Florida congressman Maxwell Frost, American Federation of Government Employees president Everett Kelley, and Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson, among others. MoveOn says even more speakers will be announced in the coming days. A full list of partner organizations is available online.
MoveOn says more than 250,000 protestors nationwide are expected to participate in the Hands Off! rally series on Saturday, making it the “largest single day of action since Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term.” Back on Inauguration Day, organizers of the People’s March—the Trump 2.0 iteration of the 2017 Women’s March, which garnered about 500,000 participants—fell short of their 50,000-person turnout goal. By focusing their expressions of dissent on Musk in addition to Trump, the Hands Off! coalition might be tapping into a particularly juicy vein: More than 200 Tesla showrooms across the country were flanked by protestors over the weekend, amid plummeting sales and reports of vandalism.
