MINNEAPOLIS — Hundreds, sometimes thousands, gathered in clusters across North Dakota and Minnesota on Saturday, April 5 as part of a nationwide day of protest against actions by the White House administration.
More than 1,200 “Hands Off!” protests were scheduled to take place across the United States Saturday as citizens gathered to rally against President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency.
The Hands Off 2025 website said April 5 was a day for people to take to the streets nationwide with the message “Hands off!” to fight back against the "most brazen power grab in modern history." The website specifically mentions cuts to Social Security, firing federal workers and cutting consumer protections and health care funding.
Alexandria
In Alexandria, Minnesota, organizers said they were expecting around 300 people, but that Alexandria Area Indivisible ended up running out of the 500 buttons they brought to give away. Alexandria's rally included comments from Leah Landwehr, a local veteran, who talked to attendees about the importance of the Veterans Administration to local vets.
Bemidji
More than 1,000 people lined Paul Bunyan Drive in Bemidji Saturday afternoon to participate in the local Hands Off event.
"We just want to hold our lawmakers accountable to know that this is what their constituents feel about what's happening with our government, and we're doing this together," said Rebecca Dickinson, a member of the grassroots democracy initiative Indivisible Bemidji that helped organize the event.
Dickinson said that she has parents around retirement age and is concerned about their Social Security. She said she was also worried about people being laid off from jobs and for people who don't feel safe because of their gender identity or other personal factors.
"There's a way to do change; change shouldn't happen this abruptly," Dickinson said.
Many others flags — like Canadian flags displayed in solidarity with the U.S. neighbor facing newly imposed tariffs — waved in support of other causes during the event, but the American flag was the most prevalent.
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"We have a lot of American flags here because this is our community and we're fighting for it," said Dickinson. "We're indivisible because no matter who you are, this is our country."
Brainerd
Hundreds of people gathered at the intersection of Washington and South Sixth Streets for the Hands Off rally in Brainerd Saturday.
The rally was hosted by Brainerd Lakes Area Indivisible.
Detroit Lakes
DETROIT LAKES — More than 200 people showed up at a rally and town hall in Detroit Lakes on Saturday.
The event was held in the former Ace Hardware building downtown — the site of the future Manna Food Co-op.
A large federal grant — awarded to Manna and later pulled — was set to be used for a commercial kitchen in the new Manna building. Manna Food Co-op Treasurer Ryan Pesch said that the Trump Administration likes to frame any spending it cuts as benefiting “a bunch of fraudulent moochers," but said that the grant to Manna would have supported local contractors and community members.
The Detroit Lakes rally also played host to criticism of Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach for not conducting in-person town hall events, of Trump's various tariffs on imported goods and against a swath of federal funding cuts or proposed reductions.
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Duluth
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison addressed the crowd at Duluth's Hands Off rally on Saturday.
Tom Wilson of Eau Claire reported roughly 2,500 people had attended the Duluth event on Saturday. Wilson also attended an event in Superior, Wisconsin, where organizers estimated roughly 500 people turned out.
“I’ve been political all my life,” said Wilson, who will turn 80 next month. Going back to the early 1960s, Wilson said he’s been involved in protests for civil rights, against war, and for the environment, and as critical as those issues were, this moment feels even more critical.
“If you read the Declaration of Independence, almost any one of our grievances against King George equally apply to Donald 2.0,” Wilson said “That’s it. The very truly founding principles of our country are at risk at this point.”
Similar events took place around the Northland Saturday, including in Chisholm, Cloquet, Ely, Grand Marais and Grand Rapids.
Fargo-Moorhead
Approximately 2,000 people lined both sides of Veterans Memorial Bridge between Fargo and Moorhead to protest the actions of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
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Organizer Lyn Dockter-Pinnick, of Moorhead, said organizers hoped 500 people would show up and she was overcome by the showing.
Periodically, someone broke into a chant, "Show me what democracy looks like," and the crowd responded with, "This is what democracy looks like." At other times, the crowd chanted, "Protect the Constitution, the promise of our union."
Tammy Shannon, of Moorhead, not only carried a sign, she dressed in the long red cloak and white bonnet popularized by Margaret Atwood's "Handmaid's Tale" as an additional protest about what's happening regarding women's rights.
A rally in Bismarck drew 1,000 attendees Saturday.
Grand Forks
Hundreds of people attended a protest near and on Grand Forks' Sorlie Memorial Bridge against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on Saturday.
Cathy Williams, of Indivisible Grand Forks, estimated more than 400 people were in attendance, both Democrats and Republicans.
“This is just a wonderful turnout on a beautiful day,” she said.
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Williams and Sheila Fontaine, chair of the Minnesotan Polk County and Red Lake County DFL, were two organizers of the protest on their side of the river.
“(Veterans Affairs), Medicare, Medicaid, social security, LGBTQ, veterans, federal workers, you name it,” she said. “That’s the theme from a lot of the signs — hands off.”
About six or seven North Dakota organizations put together the Grand Forks protest, while the Polk County and Red Lake County DFL organized the East Grand Forks one.
The protesters on both sides of the river met on the Sorlie Memorial Bridge around 4:10 p.m. after spending more than an hour on their respective sides. The groups came together with chants supporting democracy, cheering on cars that honked as they drove by on the bridge.
Jamestown
About 130 people gathered on public sidewalks on Saturday in Jamestown, holding signs in a peaceful protest.
Olivia Schloegel and Barb Lang, both members at large of the League of Women Voters of North Dakota, helped to organize the event.
Schloegel said people are affected locally by federal cuts, from Social Security to a USDA program that provided food for schools.
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“And so we wanted to make sure that local folks had an opportunity to show up and speak out against what we don’t agree with, which is these destructive cuts at the federal level,” she said.
People participating spoke about, and carried signs about, various issues, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and support for veterans, victims of domestic violence, members of the LGBTQ+ community and transgender individuals.
Rochester
At Rochester's event, hundreds of people carried signs about federal funding cuts, demanding protections for Medicaid and supporting veterans.
"This mass mobilization day is our message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of our government and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies," the event page said. "Alongside Americans across the country, we are marching, rallying, and protesting to demand a stop the chaos and build an opposition movement against the looting of our country."
Rochester's event ended with live music.
St. Cloud
Organizers estimate that more than 2,000 people attended St. Cloud’s Hands Off Protest on Saturday.
“The turnout's incredible. I counted 2,125 people,” said Jill Kelly, one of the event organizers. She said she walked up and down the protest, which was a few people deep over more than two blocks on either side of Division Street.
Avery Bond of St. Cloud said she showed up to represent the people who would not be able to be at a protest like this one because it wouldn’t be safe. She said people should take hope from a protest like this.
“Anybody who feels like they're alone going crazy, because the world's falling apart around us, obviously there are a lot more people who are right here standing with us,” Bond said.
Carter Olson of Sartell held a sign that said “Hands off Dept of Education.” He’s working to get his teacher’s license, he said.
Willmar
A crowd gathered in the parking lot of Lakeland Elementary in Willmar Saturday for a Hands Off rally, which preceded a politically driven town hall at the school.
Rally speakers included Dr. Kathryn Nelson-Hund, a retired doctor who said she had done research at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C., and at the EPA Freshwater Lab in Duluth. Nelson-Hund called for funding for medical research to be maintained.
The town hall, hosted by the Congressional District 7 Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, was described by organizers as a response to U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach not appearing at in-person town halls in the Minnesota 7th District she represents.
Attendees of the town hall included Minnesota DFL Chair Richard Carlbom, Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy and Minnesota Farmers Union President Gary Wertish.
The Willmar town hall was the third and final event of the day hosted by the 7th District DFL, which had gathered earlier in Detroit Lakes and Alexandria. Across the three events in District 7, more than 1,000 people gathered in protest and to ask questions of people in power, according to event organizers.
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