A sea of tens of thousands of people descended on downtown Boston Saturday morning to demand President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk take their “hands off our democracy”—a sentiment echoed through chants and signs.
The streets of Boston leading to City Hall were flooded as thousands of signs, held high above heads, made clear the demands of the people: “Beware of DOGE,” “Stop Fascism,” and “Dump Trump.”
Saturday’s protest was part of a nationwide movement that called for the Trump administration to take their “Hands Off!” a variety of causes, including healthcare, data privacy, and immigrant rights. Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has taken action to cut billions of dollars in federal funding across all sectors, introduced high tariffs on imports from dozens of countries, and detained lawful immigrants from higher educational institutions.
“‘Hands Off!’ is a message to those in Washington, who think it is their right to dismantle the country that we have fought for and loved and built together,” Reverend Mariama White-Hammond, one of the emcees, said to the crowd.
Organizers of the Massachusetts rendition of the protest included the Indivisible Mass Coalition, Mass 50501, Swing Blue Alliance, UU Mass Action, and ACLU of Massachusetts. Nationwide, the marches took place at state capitals, federal buildings, parks, and city halls.
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Thousands gathered in Boston Common at the Parkman Bandstand around 11 a.m., with crowds stretching up the hill to the Soldiers and Sailors monument and to the edges of the Frog Pond.
“Being here gives me hope,” said Adam Hammond, a Boston native wearing a “Protect Trans Kids” shirt. “We’ve been in this country for 200 years now, so people are realizing that we don’t need to put up with all the bullshit going on in our government. We can stand here and we can speak our opinion.”
After a group of musicians played brass band tunes like “This Little Light of Mine” to energize the crowd, emcees White-Hammond of the New Roots AME Church and Reggi Alkiewicz, the civic engagement coordinator of the North American Indian Center of Boston, gave opening remarks to thank the organizers, establish the purpose of the march, and energize the crowd, who cheered in response.
White-Hammond referenced civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1967 book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” and applied it to the current political climate.
“We have already gotten a clear answer from Washington, D.C., about what our president thinks about where we go from here, and it is extreme chaos,” White-Hammond said. “I have never seen anyone pull off this much drama in such a short period of time, but we are choosing community.”
Protesters then departed from the Boston Common and marched shoulder-to-shoulder for a half-mile trek up Tremont Street to City Hall Plaza. During the trek, it began to rain, but the colder temperatures and wet streets did not dampen spirits.
“It’s very uplifting to be around like-minded people,” Amanda Waters from the North Shore said. “I worry about people who are being marginalized around the country. I hope that they will be able to see us all up off our couches and speaking out to try to change what’s happening.”
Bill Mantone, a veteran, said he’s angry and afraid for the future in the face of “facism” within the federal government.
“I think we are in trouble … I’m nobody, just a guy on the street, and I fear for my freedom,” Mantone said. “My granddaughters are both young women and I’m worried what could happen to them … I’m tired but I can’t stop being angry.”
One demonstrator, Abigail, who declined to provide her last name citing safety concerns, came to the protest from Somerville and waved a sign reading “You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep the spring from coming.”
“Even though everyone is being pushed down in silence by the media [and] by laws … we are still here and there are more of us than there are of them,” Abigail said. “It’s so important to be here and feels so good to be around these people that are going to keep spring coming.”
Sen. Ed Markey was the first featured speaker at City Hall Plaza after leading the march up Tremont Street.
“We are telling Donald Trump hands off … but we need everyone here to be hands on, fighting for our democracy,” Markey said. “We do not agonize in Boston, we organize.”
Carol Rose, the executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, expressed outrage over the detainment of Tufts graduate student, Rumeysa Öztürk, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last month. A federal judge in Boston on Friday denied that the case be moved to Louisiana, where Öztürk is being held, and instead moved it to Vermont.
“The ACLU continues to fight to set Rumeysa free and bring her home and to defend the constitutional rights of all people,” Rose said.
The crowd chanted “bring her home” in response.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu also addressed the crowd, highlighting concerns about the federal government’s focus on Boston’s sanctuary city status, meaning the city limits its cooperation with federal immigration agents.
“Boston is, and always will be, a home for everyone,” Wu said. “The Trump administration is focused on our city for one simple reason: we stand for everything that they seek to tear down.”
Last month, the Boston City Council declared the city a sanctuary for transgender and LGBTQ+ residents a week after Wu testified in front of Congress regarding Boston’s sanctuary city policies for immigrants and questions from Republicans about Wu’s handling of city resources.
Other speakers included Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, and union leaders. Each speaker fired up the crowd that barely dwindled in size throughout the three-hour demonstration.
Following the final speakers, the Dropkick Murphys, an alternative band that originated in Quincy, played a short acoustic set, ending the protest like it started—with music.
Attendees and organizers, like White-Hammond, said they felt uplifted by the large numbers of people who gathered today to show out against the federal government’s actions.
“The only force that is more powerful than fear is love,” White-Hammond said. “Today I want to be focused on the love between us … because it is only when we the people rise up as a movement that we have the ability to push back on the forces of fear.”
