By Raeanne Raccagno
Copy Editor
Hundreds of “Hands Off” protestors created echoes of chants through Trenton’s neighborhood blocks on April 5 during a rally against President Donald Trump’s administrative actions.
Arranged by almost 200 organizations, more than 1,000 protests happened across the country as a nationwide effort “to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history,” according to Hands Off website. New Jersey 50501 organized the protest in Trenton and spoke out against “the deliberate weakening” of programs that support Americans, according to a press release.
Attendees filled the World War II memorial and spilled out, almost filling the sidewalk. Protestors ranged from young kids to senior citizens. Andrei Camurungan with 50501, and one of the rally’s organizers, described the crowd as having a “fire in their souls,” which motivated them to stay through the rainy weather.
“It’s so easy to be isolated nowadays,” Camurungan said. “We want to remind people continuously, ‘hey we’re out there, we feel the same things that you are and we all can be heard together.’”
The rally began to set up at 10:30 a.m. and officially started at noon. The crowd’s size stayed strong from noon until 2 p.m.
Chant leaders from 50501 led the assembly in their personal battle cries, yelling, “Congress grow a spine, our lives are on the line,” among many other chants. As people shouted out, individuals’ faces contorted with dedication as different mantras were said.
(Photos by Raeanne Raccagno)
New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman made a surprise appearance and spoke after attending protests in Franklin Township and Princeton.
“I said, take me to Trenton, that’s my home,” Watson Coleman said. “We’re not falling for the lies and broken promises…We have rights in this country, get your hands off our rights.”
At peak population, protestors were shoulder to shoulder and the air was covered with homemade signs.
Chris Schultz, a 66-year-old veteran, held a sign that said, “veterans fighting fascism.” He said he first made his sign for the nationwide veterans march on March 14 and has now made it his universal sign. This was the sixth protest that Schultz has attended, and he said he’ll continue to show up to any that are within driving distance.
“I want my country back,” Schultz said. “I want to show everyone else that not all veterans are MAGA types.”
A moment of the protest focused on education when Union County Education Association President James Frazier and New Jersey Education Association President and New Jersey Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Sean Spiller spoke.
Spiller gave a story about his childhood in the foster system, where he benefited from school resources like free school lunches and special education teachers.
“That’s what this is all about folks, this is about this administration trying to take away things that ensure that the working class got what was necessary to compete in a society that was trying to keep us down,” Frazier said. “Let us rally, let us stand up, let us be a revolution, let us ensure that we will make sure that their hands stay off our democracy.”
Spiller articulated how he came as an immigrant, teacher, Black man, labor and union leader for the working class.
“I’m saying this to Donald Trump and his puppet master, Elon Musk, you will not erase who I am,” Spiller said. “You will not spew your hate, division, your efforts to go after us, our communities, and families, you will not win with that, we will win with our hope and our solidarity.”
Sarah Lamm, coordinator for Women's and Fair Practices, Local 2369, spoke about federal workers. Lamm focused on social security during her speech.
“Social security is the one place you interact with from the day you’re born til the day you die…we’re here for you,” Lamm said.
Rev. Erin Kinahan, the only transgender woman pastor in a Lutheran church in New Jersey, also spoke, saying, “You know what I say to the people in the Republican party who have tried to hijack my religion and turn it into a weapon of hate and tried demonizing trans people, Black and brown people, poor people and immigrants? We will not give up until we win and we bring America back.”
While a wide age range was present, people still spoke about how most of the crowd was a part of the older generation and more young protestors needed to attend.
“I do agree with the statement that more young people need to come out here. I feel like Gen Z does have a lot of things to say online about the administration but when we come out, we’ve seen that it’s a lot of older people,” Cameron Santoro, a 24-year-old attendee, said. “I definitely grew up with these values and it’s a hopeful feeling knowing that there are other people, so that’s why I like to come to these things.”
Toward the end of the protest, organizers opened the floor to the crowd for people to give their own testimonies.
Many of the volunteer speakers spoke about their grandfathers who fought in wars, saying their sacrifices were “not for nothing.” They gestured to the war illustrations around them in the memorial while shouting out, “it does not have to come to this.”
