Thousands take to the streets in nationwide “Hands Off!” protest

Thousands of community members assembled in downtown Bozeman on Saturday, April 5 as part of the national “Hands Off!” protest against the Trump administration.

The nationwide mobilization consisted of over 1,300 rallies, with some even taking place outside of the U.S. in cities such as London and Paris. The protests were intended to “stop the most brazen power grab in modern history,” according to the Hands Off! website and media team.

Key issues included the federal government’s proposed cuts to Medicaid, its firing of essential workers and its alleged civil rights violations, according to the Hands Off! website.

Indivisible Bozeman — a local group focused on “fighting for progressive democracy issues,” according to its Facebook page — organized the Bozeman rally. Attendees protested a host of issues Saturday afternoon, with many highlighting the importance of community action and upholding democracy.

“We — the good, hard-working people of Montana — are here to tell our senators and congressmen that we're not okay with billionaires taking over our government and slashing jobs for thousands and thousands of dedicated public servants,” said guest speaker Shane Doyle in his address to the crowd.

Doyle — an enrolled member of the Crow tribe and instructor in the Native American Studies program at MSU — described the value of local action. “We're all in this together and for the long haul, and we will keep standing and speaking and working and ringing those bells to make our government and our communities as strong and as resilient as they can be,” he said.

Doyle was one of multiple guest speakers, including Betsy Wise, who led the Women’s Voice Chorus in two musical performances that bookended the rally. “I believe it is time for every person — whatever it is they do, whatever they're good at or whatever they're passionate about — to stand up and do it for the country right now,” she said in an interview with the Exponent after the chorus’s first performance.

After the presentations, protest organizer and core member of Indivisible Bozeman Andre Zollars led a march from the Gallatin County Courthouse down Main Street, followed by many of the protesters in attendance.

Bozeman local Jacob Dolan stood in front of the courthouse beside his wife Alyson Roberts with their newborn daughter in a stroller before the march began. He held a sign that read: “I should be at home enjoying my newborn, but fighting for her future is more important.”

The couple expressed concern for their daughter's future in light of the current political climate. “We have a newborn daughter that was born in 2025 and we realized that she has fewer rights now than her mother did when she was born in 1986,” Dolan said.

Other community members expressed economic fears. “I'm protesting the tariffs,” said local contractor Josh Zaldonis. “Canadian lumber is keeping costs down for me and my business and these tariffs are gonna force me to drive my prices down even further because everyone's gonna be scared.”

Some attendees voiced more general concerns. “I'm here to show support for the Constitution and for our country, and I'm standing up against oligarchy, dictatorship and fascism,” said 45-year Gallatin County local Buck Buchanan. “Elon Musk never received a single vote, and yet he's in the Oval Office daily, wielding power. He's an unelected oligarch.”

Attendee and MSU senior Cooper McCormack stressed the importance of young people’s voices in democracy. “Now is the time to speak up and make your voice heard, especially as the younger population and the younger demographic,” he said. “Your voice matters.”

When asked why he was at the rally, one protestor said that there were too many issues to choose just one. “National parks, public lands, Social Security — I mean — there's 1,000 issues,” said Belgrade resident Dan Hoskins. “I saw a sign that said, so many problems and not enough cardboard.”

When the march was over, Zollars corralled the roaring crowd in front of the courthouse once again, where she delivered her final speech.

“We were seen today. We were heard together. We made good trouble,” she said. Zollars went on to reference Senator Cory Booker’s 25-hour-long speech in front of the U.S. Senate from March 31 to April 1. This address was the longest in U.S. history and also served as a protest against the Trump administration, according to the BBC.

“To quote Senator Booker, it is not about left and right. It is about right and wrong. Make no doubt about it, we are fighting for the very soul of this nation,” she said.

To learn more about the “Hands Off!” protest, visit https://handsoff2025.com/about.