Flags, signs and chants calling out President Donald Trump and Elon Musk waved Saturday as residents gathered at the Tarrant County Sub-Courthouse in Arlington. About 377 responded to the call, but that expectation was far exceeded.
Rallying in opposition to the Trump administration and its policies, the Hands Off movement saw over 1,200 demonstrations Saturday across Texas and the nation, according to an Associated Press article.
Protesters of various organizations and backgrounds lined the nearly 200-foot stretch along both sides of Abram Street, voicing their fears regarding recent federal decisions and orders that have turned the country into a hotbed for demonstrations.
Organizer Judy Knapp said the group came out to protest Saturday because people are afraid of losing social security and tanking stock markets. The current administration is “just not working,” she said.
Recent sweeps of tariff changes and increases by Trump have left global markets in the red and made nations around the world threaten to put out retaliatory tariffs of their own, according to an Associated Press article.
Arlington resident Carol Raburn, 70, said she attended because she was angry with what Trump has done in his current term. The rally gives her hope that the damage can be undone.
As a UTA alumna and member of the Progressive Women of Arlington, — an organization fighting for transparency in government, social and economic justice, health care and environmental safeguards — Raburn estimated the rally brought thousands of attendees who share the same anger.
“We are protesting the Trump regime,” said Fort Worth resident Elizabeth Doucette, 78. “This is awesome because there are so many older people, seniors, that are being directly affected by what Trump and his minions are doing. We need to keep this momentum up.”
Doucette said that although the youth need to show up, the older generation will be the example of how to protest.
“We can do it peacefully, but we have to be very blunt about what we are saying,” she said. “Hands off social security, Medicaid, immigrants, everything. We need our free speech back, among everything else.”
Signs at the event ranged from memes about penguins receiving tariffs to more serious messaging about Medicare and education. One sign read “MAPA: Make America Poor Again,” while another said “So Much Wrong, So Little Cardboard.”
When asked why the protest matters, Arlington resident Mike LaFon pointed to a sign a supporter held ahead of him. “Stop fascism,” he read.
As a volunteer for Powered by People, an advocacy group pushing young people to register to vote, LaFon said he’s tired of Democrats who don’t show up at the polls. At events like this, he talks to people about the cause.
His passion to push back against the current administration is driven by fear — not for himself, but for his family.
“I’ve got a granddaughter coming up,” LaFon said. “She’s just about turned 18, and it scares the hell out of me the way things are turning.”
Richard Foreman, American Postal Workers Union member and Arlington resident, said the United States Postal Service is one of the last services aiding private communication and is the most successful, self-funded government agency.
New changes to postal workers’ retirement funding have created issues, he said. Additionally, Trump has been clear in his intent to put the USPS under the Department of Commerce, which would place new leadership and policy upon the agency.
Foreman blames Musk for his changes made through the Department of Government Efficiency, but said Trump is at fault for allowing him that power. He said what the government is doing borders on totalitarianism.
Arlington has grown far more diverse than when Foreman grew up there, he said, and it’s important to keep mobilizing that community for the cause.
“We don’t have the money, but we got the power of the people,” he said.
Chants about anti-fascism rang out from the protesters throughout the rally’s duration. Some yelled “no Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA,” while others targeted Musk, “hey hey, ho ho, fascist Elon has got to go.”
Arlington resident Mark Tenorio, 32, said the protest means everything to him.
“For the last few years, there’s just been rhetoric upon rhetoric spread by people of the MAGA and we are trying to take back what is rightfully ours,” Tenorio said. “This country deserves the truth, and we are tired of lies being spread.”
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