Thousands gather for ‘Hands Off’ protest at the Utah Capitol
Apr 5, 2025, 2:09 PM | Updated: 9:39 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — Thousands protested at the Utah Capitol on Saturday in opposition, said organizers, to decisions made by President Donald Trump and his senior advisor, Elon Musk.
The protest in Utah was among protests planned in all 50 U.S. states on Saturday. According to the Associated Press, more than 1,200 similar protests took place.
State Sen. Nate Blouin, D-Salt Lake City, said he’s never seen anything quite like this, the “Hands Off” protest.
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According to the Utah Highway Patrol, which is the police force for the Utah Capitol, at least 6,000 people showed up. Organizers and people on social media who claimed they were there said there were at least 10,000 people.
“This is by far the biggest turnout that I can remember. This certainly shows there’s an appetite for something different,” Blouin said.
Protesters expressed concerns over the Trump Administration’s policies, calling it a destruction of democracy and an attack on civil rights and freedoms.
The national day of protest branched out from social media, when people began sharing the idea of holding a protest in every state capitol, all in one day. This idea grew into the 50- 50-1 movement.
Protest called for accountability
People protested everything from rising costs to potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare. The crowd also called for leaders to be held accountable.
“We just all need to get involved, and we need to take our humanity as a society back,” said protester and veteran Brent Johnson.
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Johnson said he’s attended other rallies, and might even go to Washington, D.C. to protest.
“We need to stand up and make changes so that everybody gets a piece of the pie, and not just the billionaires,” he said.
One past protest in connection to Saturday’s protest was held at the Ogden Municipal Building downtown. Another, which had up to 1,000 people gathered, was held on President’s Day at the Utah State Capitol in protest of actions taken by Trump.
Contributing: Jacob Freeman, KSL TV
