Protesters rallied in Providence Saturday as part of a nationwide call to action against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the unelected billionaire turned “special government employee” who is slashing jobs at federal agencies.
The protest, which organizers called a “Hands Off!” mass mobilization, began at noon with a brief rally at Hope High School in Providence and continued with a march downtown to Kennedy Plaza.
Protesters said they oppose actions taken by the Trump administration that affect everyday government services, from healthcare, public education, and environmental protections to the postal service and libraries.
Many protesters declined to give their full names out of concern that they or their relatives could face retaliation. Others carried signs and said they consider it an urgent time to speak out against Trump’s administration.
Johanne Johnston, a protester from Foster, came with a sign evoking the histories of Nazi Germany and the French Revolution.
“They’re hoping that we all obey in advance and do the easy thing,” Johnston said. “That’s what happened in 1939 Germany. But on the other hand in 1789 France, there was a rebellion.”
Signs could be seen with slogans like “MAGA = FASCISM”, “OUST THE MORON KING” and “NO DICTATORS!”
“We’re here supporting unions in general, as the Trump administration is trying to strip labor rights from all Americans,” said Kyle Dacey, a union member from a local chapter of the Communication Workers of America. “They’re starting with federal employees at the moment, but private employees won’t be far behind.”
Before the event, organizers from Indivisible RI said they expected the rally to be the largest protest in state history. At Hope High around noon, crowds too large to see the entirety of had already gathered by the thousands. Protesters marched down Thayer and Angell streets, filling the roadways for as far as the eye could see.
As one reporter stood at a balcony on the corner of Angell and Benefit streets, the flow of protesters was uninterrupted for more than twenty minutes before he re-entered the crowd and continued downhill toward Kennedy Plaza.
Estimates of the crowd’s size varied widely. Anthony Vega, a spokesperson for Mayor Brett Smiley’s administration, said between 6,000 and 8,000 people attended the protest. Madeline Stocker, a regional communications director for the Working Families Party, said she heard estimates between 3,000 and 8,000. Some activists who spoke at the protest claimed that more than 20,000 people attended.
The largest confirmed turnout in recent memory for a protest in Providence was in June 2020, when about 10,000 people gathered in the city to protest the murder of George Floyd.
As protesters reached Kennedy Plaza, they gathered in front of the steps of City Hall to hear a panel of speakers. It began to rain heavily.
“I am 100 years old. After living through 18 administrations — yes, that is right, 18 administrations — I have never seen one quite like this,” said Norah O’Brien Gervais, the first speaker. “It’s time to stand up.”
Other rally speakers focused on a wide range of local issues that went beyond frustration with Trump and Musk, from raising state income taxes on the rich, to forming tenants’ unions, to speaking out against Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation for voting to fund Israeli military operations in Gaza. Three brass bands — the Extraordinary Rendition Band, the Undertow Brass Band and Anchors Aweigh — added musical accents to the speeches and rallying cries.
“It’s not just Washington where big business runs the show, we have the same problem right here in Rhode Island,” said Jenine Bressener, an organizer with the Atlantic Mills Tenants Union. “We deserve better than Trump’s MAGA America.”
“You will not continue to deport my family, my friends, my neighbors,” Rep. Karen Alzate of Pawtucket said in English and Spanish. “We are here together to tell the administration – no more.”
The event was organized by a coalition of local union members, political organizers and environmental activists. In a press release, Indivisible RI listed the co-organizers as Climate Action RI, the RI Working Families Party, The Womxn Project, SEIU 1199, and National Education Association of RI, among others.
Only two elected officials attended the rally and spoke publicly: Rep. Alzate of Pawtucket and Senator Melissa Murray of Woonsocket. Indivisible RI said it extended invitations to Rhode Island’s entire federal delegation, Attorney General Peter Neronha, and Gov. Dan McKee, none of whom spoke at the protest.
