Protesters hold signs as they march during the nationwide "Hands Off!" protest against Trump and his advisor, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in downtown Los Angeles on April 5, 2025. Photo: ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP
By Michael Mathes, AFP
When Liz Gabbitas joined thousands of fellow protesters Saturday in the US capital, she thought her message to the Trump administration would be best delivered through her homemade sign - a cardboard guillotine.
The 34-year-old librarian made clear she does not advocate violence, but nevertheless insisted that her one-metre sign, complete with tin foil blade, "communicated the visual language" of revolutionary fervour she longed for less than three months into Donald Trump's presidency.
"It's easy to be overwhelmed with all of the horrible things going on" under Trump's leadership, she told AFP at the base of the Washington Monument, just blocks from the White House.
Anti-Trump protests at St Paul, Minnesota. Photo: AFP
"I'm worried that the separation of powers is dissolving," she added, noting Trump's dramatic expansion of executive authority. "I do worry that people get into the trap of feeling like, well, there's nothing I can do."
Americans were taking action all around her, however, on the biggest day of national 'Hands Off' protests, since Trump returned to power. Hand-scrawled 'Resist' signs poked up from the crowd, which organisers said amounted to more than 20,000 people.
Anti-Trump protestors in Denver, Colorado. Photo: AFP
Protestors take to the streets of Denver, Colorado. Photo: AFP
Some protesters dressed in the red cloaks of 'The Handmaid's Tale', a popular novel and TV series about a totalitarian society. Others carried American flags upside down, traditionally a symbol of distress or danger to the country's liberties.
"You did Nazi this coming," screamed a sign.
Anti-Trump protests at Huntingdon Beach, California. Photo: AFP
Bob Dylan's protest classic 'Masters of War' oozed from a portable speaker. A larger-than-life papermache model of Elon Musk - the billionaire whom Trump has tasked with slashing the federal workforce - cast a fascist salute.
"Because of Trump and Elon and DOGE, my project died and I was laid off," said Annette, a 39-year-old from Oregon, who recently lost her government contractor job in international development.
Anti-Trump protestors in Los Angeles, California. Photo: AFP
While she fears a collapse in US-funded humanitarian work worldwide, "I'm really heartened to see so many people out here," she said. "This is not enough... Congress needs to get off their asses, I think.
"Unfortunately, I feel this in my heart that people aren't going to come out, until it hurts them personally somehow."
Protesters hold up signs during the nationwide "Hands Off!" protest against US President Donald Trump and his advisor, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in downtown Los Angeles on April 5, 2025. Photo: ETIENNE LAURENT / AFP
'Coup' by oligarchs
Half a mile away, Shelly Townley and her husband made their way past the White House, provocatively holding an upside-down American flag and a sign reading 'Stop the Musk Coup'.
"I feel sad," Townley, a 62-year-old from North Carolina, told AFP. "This is the first time I've walked by here without crying.
Anti-Trump protestors in Los Angeles, California. Photo: AFP
"I believe we're under a coup right now, by oligarchs, much to my dismay. The checks and balances of our government" are disintegrating, she added.
Even though Trump was away in Florida, Townley found herself looking at the White House through tall metal fencing erected ahead of the rally.
Anti-Trump protests in Houston, Texas. Photo: AFP
"I wish, instead of being at a golf tournament at Mar-a-Lago, that he was in there and could see what was happening out here, that the people are out here" opposing his policies, she said.
Not everyone was comfortable openly protesting in public, especially given Trump's executive order last week that approves deployment of "a more robust Federal law enforcement presence" in Washington.
Anti-Trump protests in New York City. Photo: AFP
A 51-year-old woman, who represents an NGO, said she was wearing a mask "to protect my identity".
"I think they are using AI and different recognition technologies to out people and to then punish them," she added.
"It's all about loyalty with this administration and if you're disloyal, you're at risk of losing everything."
- AFP
