"Hands Off!" anti-Trump protests planned around Utah
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Protestors in cities and towns across Utah are planning to join Saturday's nationwide "Hands Off!" demonstrations against the Trump administration.
Why it matters: It's expected to be the largest single-day protest since Trump took office.
Friction point: The Trump administration's wide-reaching and ground-shaking policies have mobilized a varied cross section of Americans affected by political, economic, social and legal changes.
- "This is not just corruption," the Hands Off! website said. "This is not just mismanagement. This is a hostile takeover."
State of play: Protesters are rallying against several Trump administration policies, including its handling of Social Security benefits, layoffs across the federal workforce, anti-immigrant policies and attacks on transgender people and consumer protections.
- The protests are also against Elon Musk's involvement in the federal government via DOGE — after he's already faced a wave of demonstrations at Tesla dealerships worldwide via the #TeslaTakedown movement.
By the numbers: More than 1,100 rallies, visibility events and meetings were scheduled in all 50 states as of Wednesday afternoon.
- Organizers said they had nearly 400,000 RSVPs as of Thursday.
Zoom in: Salt Lake's protest is planned for noon at the Capitol. Others are planned in:
- Bluff at 9am
- Moab at 10am
- Provo, Heber City, Logan and Kanab at noon
- Boulder at 12:30pm
- St. George and Monticello at 1pm
The latest: More events were being organized as of Thursday.
What they're saying: "This is a nationwide mobilization to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history," the movement's website said.
- "Whether they get away with any particular effort doesn't matter as much as the message that they are sending so loud and so clear, which is sowing fear, sowing the feeling of powerlessness," Deirdre Schifeling, the ACLU's chief political and advocacy officer, said Tuesday.
How it works: Dozens of advocacy organizations are partnering to support Saturday's action, including the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research, Declaration for American Democracy, the Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible and Planned Parenthood.
Zoom out: Consumers have also been protesting corporations with boycotts, especially over anti-diversity policies since the start of the Trump administration.
Go deeper: The Trump 2.0 resistance: Alive, but evolved