Hundreds of thousands of people at more than 1,000 events across the nation on April 5 — including nearly 30 in Arizona — are planning to tell President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk to take their hands off of vital government services, the economy and civil rights.
The protests, planned in cities and towns in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, are the work of numerous advocacy groups and volunteers, including local chapters of the progressive group, Indivisible.
“With Trump and congressional Republicans doubling down on their agenda to gut essential services, every day northern Arizona residents are sending a clear message: Take your hands off our health care, our Social Security, our civil rights, our freedom, and our education,” Susan Shapiro, director of Indivisible Northern Arizona, wrote in a press release.
“Hands Off” protests are planned in communities across the Grand Canyon State, from Nogales to Yuma to Flagstaff, where organizers are expecting more than 600 people to turn up in opposition to Trump and Musk’s actions.
Mardi Devolites, co-leader of Anthem Indivisible, told the Arizona Mirror that she expects the protest in Surprise to be something like the community has never seen. As of midday Friday, more than 700 people had signed up to protest in the right-leaning city, a place where she said liberal organizers typically considered 30 people attending a protest a win.
Devolites said she hopes that protestors from across the political spectrum show up.
“It’s not Republican versus Democrat at this point. It’s all of us against fascism,” she said.
Devolites said that people are concerned about possible cuts to taxpayer-funded programs like Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security, along with services for veterans and school meals, while wealthy people like Musk dodge taxes.
“I think, nationwide, it’s going to be a huge turnout, and I think that we’re opening the door for other people to join the fight,” Devolites said. “It’s like, forget about partisanship, just step forward. Let’s get together as Americans and solve this.”
Protests are planned all over the Valley, with one beginning at 10 a.m. across the street from the Capitol in Phoenix, as well as in Tempe, Mesa and the one in Surprise.
“This mass mobilization day is our 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,” Phoenix organizers wrote in a description of the event. “Alongside Americans across the country, we are marching, rallying, and protesting to demand a stop the chaos and build an opposition movement against the looting of our country.”
