TOLEDO – Normally, the Craig Street Bridge in Toledo carries vehicle traffic across the Maumee River to East Toledo. But on Saturday, it was carrying foot traffic – and a lot of it.
As part of the planned nationwide ‘Hands Off!’ protest against the Trump administration, people walked from one end of the bridge to the other. They held signs criticizing the role of billionaire Elon Musk in the federal government, while others criticized the president’s policies.
Demonstrations were held in large and small towns throughout all 50 states, and even included Canada, as protestors in Detroit and Windsor lined both sides of the Detroit River.
“This is a very diverse crowd. This is not left or right, this is right or wrong. We are out here with a lot of nonpartisan groups, a lot of people on all political stripes, that believe in democracy and believe in protecting our country.”
Melissa Portala is an organizer with the group Toledo Persists, which was behind the local demonstration.
“We were expecting a large crowd today, but this is even bigger than what we were expecting,” Portala explained.
She says over 3,000 people signed up to attend, but many more showed up from word-of-mouth, leading her to believe there were around 4,000 attendees. So, what is the message they’re aiming to send?
“We are here saying ‘no.’ We want to keep our Social Security; we want to keep our Medicare, we want to keep funding for our schools,” she said.
Deborah Wright attended the protest. In particular, Wright was opposed to the U.S. Agency for International Development – or USAID – having been dismantled.
“I’m really upset about the U.S. aid for all these countries that really, really need it. Medicine and the food- and he doesn’t care about anybody but his own pocket – and I don’t feel that way,” she said.
Asked if the demonstration will be effective in any way, Portala cited court orders blocking some of the White House’s agenda as examples of successes. She said the goal of the protest is to get elected officials to do the same.
“When the people that are ostensibly representing us in our government see this massive pushback, it makes them think twice about what they’re doing.”
