Bellingham joins cities across the US in “Hands Off!” protest

Signs and flags waved in the spring air on Saturday, April 5 as an estimated 4,000 people, according to Indivisible Bellingham, assembled to protest President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) advisor Elon Musk’s sweeping federal changes.

The “Hands Off!” protest was one of over 1,300 across the nation, organized by Indivisible, an activist organization founded in response to Trump’s first term. 

Protesters converged on the front steps of Bellingham City Hall to listen to the event’s speakers, while others sat together on Lee Memorial Lawn to discuss their issues with the Trump administration.

“A lot of people feel that our real sense of democracy and the reality of our democracy is in danger,” said Kevin Leja, a leadership team member for Indivisible Bellingham. “That's why people are speaking up and standing up.” 

There was palpable anger among the protesters over the administration’s cuts to the Social Security Administration, Veterans Affairs, the National Parks Service, Medicaid and more. Some protesters’ signs mentioned Musk by name, calling him an “unelected president,” “fascist” and “domestic terrorist.”

The budget cuts spearheaded by Musk’s DOGE, intending to reduce the federal government’s deficit, personally impacted many of the protesters at the “Hands Off!” rally.

Lying down on Lee Memorial Lawn, Reggie Grucza, 19, and his little brother Hudson, 3, sat with a sign that read, “Hands off our social security.” 

Reggie came to support his little brother, who wore a headband with his hearing aids poking out. 

“I’m scared,” Reggie said. “It makes me sad that it might make it harder for [Hudson] to talk. [His hearing aids] are around $10,000 without insurance; it’d be hard if he ever lost it, and it would take a while to get a new one.”

The Trump administration is looking to cut more than a billion in research dollars for federal health and science funding from the National Institute of Health.

“This would mean no more free doctor appointments for [Hudson],” Reggie said. “He has to go all the way to Seattle Children’s Hospital for checkups because he’s at risk for cancer and losing his eyesight because of his genetics.”

Protesters shared an expressed fear for the integrity of American democracy.

Mars Wilkinson and their partner, Becca Martin, stood outside City Hall. They learned about the protest through Reddit and the messaging app Signal. 

“It's scary to watch what's going on in the country; it doesn't feel like our elected officials are doing anything about it,” Wilkinson said. “I think it's time for the community to stand up and try to do what we can with our limited power in the current situation.” 

The couple protested in defiance of the nationwide ICE raids and the April 3 large-scale immigration raid at Mt. Baker Roofing in Whatcom County. The raid resulted in the arrest of 37 individuals, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol.

“It's just horrifying to see this happening to people who aren't doing anything wrong at the end of the day, who don't deserve it exactly, and with no due process, no consideration to the families of these people who don't hear from their family member because they're just taken away and moved out of the country,” Martin said. 

On the east side of city hall, Andy Snow, a biology instructor at Whatcom Community College, stood with an upside-down American flag clipped to a piece of plywood. 

Snow lived under two totalitarian governments — first inside the Soviet Union and then in Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

“I see what's happening in this country as highly alarming. This is not like anything else that I've seen in my life; we are headed down the wrong path in lots and lots of different ways,” Snow said. “Our freedoms and our recognition as equal under the eyes of the law are being eroded and burned by Trump. It's appalling.”

More recently, Snow felt the burn of the stock market falling, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeting 5.5%, the S&P 500 dropping 6% and the Nasdaq Composite falling 5.8% on Friday, according to CNBC. 

Snow lost $70,000 over the past two days. 

For others, money isn’t the problem. Medicaid is. 

Rebecca McClinton came with her therapy dog, with two signs strapped to her dog: “Scoop your coup!” and “Bad DOGE.”

“I work as a community mental health counselor, so all my clients are impacted by Medicaid,” McClinton said. “I'm a foster parent and a lot of the kids I've had in my home are impacted by Medicaid cuts and the things that are happening.” 

The House of Representatives approved $880 billion of Trump-endorsed cuts to Medicaid and $230 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. About 22% of Washington state residents rely on Medicaid for their health coverage, according to Medicaid.

These protests are the largest demonstrations against Trump’s administration since he won the presidency in November 2024. 

There were 11 speakers, ranging from Bellingham City Council member Jace Cotton to Whatcom County pianist and affiliate of Children of the Setting Sun Productions, Mark Nichols. All expressed solidarity with the marginalized communities impacted by the administrative changes and emphasized the importance of peaceful mass resistance.

“We are trying to find a way to protect our way of life,” said Kevin Leja, a leadership team member for Indivisible Bellingham. “Reality is that democracy is in peril, and that’s what we have to do. It starts with people waking up, not obeying in advance, practicing non-violent, passive resistance.”

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