06-04-2025
Thousands gather at Capitol for 'Hands Off!' anti-Trump protest
Under a heavy snowfall in front of the state Capitol Saturday afternoon, about 2,000 gathered to protest the Trump administration, wrapping halfway around the building, stretching to the parking lot in front and crowding the sidewalks adjacent.
Taking place from Trafalgar Square to Taos, the "Hands Off!" protest in Santa Fe was part of a worldwide series of demonstrations and one of at least a dozen statewide in opposition to President Donald Trump's policies.
Despite the singular target, for protestors, the reasons for coming were numerous, even 'infinitesimal,' said Laura Bohn, 66.
040525 jw trump protest
DeCoy Gallerina waves her Trump effigy as she chants alongside thousands of Santa Feans at the state Capital during a 'mass mobilization' protest on Saturday, April 5, 2025, against President Donald Trump. The event was echoed around the country with over one thousand protests in large cities and small towns alike to speak out against tariffs, DOGE, mass firings in the government and foreign policy.
As such, protestors' signs ranged from 'man-child in chief,' to 'Free Luigi,' alluding to Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Bohn carried a sign signaling support for Ukraine.
'People showed up here in the freezing cold because you're pissed — you're pissed, and you wanna resist,' said Max Thurston, a member of the group organizing the event, Indivisible Santa Fe.
Speakers included Heidi Feldman, a Georgetown law professor who spoke against attacks on the legal profession.
040525 jw trump protest
Protesters line Paseo De Peralta as thousands of Santa Feans gather at the state Capital for a 'mass mobilization' protest on Saturday, April 5, 2025, against President Donald Trump. The event was echoed around the country with over one thousand protests in large cities and small towns alike to speak out against tariffs, DOGE, mass firings in the government and foreign policy.
'What we are confronting in Donald Trump is a reign of lawlessness,' she said, going on to list five ways in which 'Trump is trying to institute a tyranny,' including interference with already-approved congressional funding, his ' repeated resistance to obeying judicial orders,' a 'disregard for civil rights' and 'oppressing the legal profession.'
' Singling out specific law firms for punitive actions because they represent people and causes he doesn't like — that's the whim of the dictator," she said.
Jessica Aguirre — an immigration lawyer for the Santa Fe Dreamers Project, talked about Trump's immigration rhetoric and policies.
040525 jw trump protest
Kevin Klix pounds his makeshift drum in solidarity as thousands of Santa Feans gather at the state Capital for a 'mass mobilization' protest on Saturday, April 5, 2025, against President Donald Trump. The event was echoed around the country with over one thousand protests in large cities and small towns alike to speak out against tariffs, DOGE, mass firings in the government and foreign policy.
'At minimum, these tactics serve to terrify our communities. At their worst, they rip families apart,' she said.
Alana Cartier, president of the National Education Association of Santa Fe teachers union, worried about the impact of funding cuts for school meals.
'Every day. I see children that are hungry," she said. "They often are relying on the breakfast, lunch programs that schools provide. What's going to happen when these programs are cut and they no longer receive free or reduced cost meals?'
Among the thousands, there were some children — as well as some dogs, an incense burner wafting the smoke as she moved throughout the crowds, and a few large-scale puppets, made by Wise Fool New Mexico.
There were also some younger people.
'We just want to not die,' said Bri Tweet, 16.
Bianca Sopoci-Belknap, co-director of Earth Care, talked about climate change — our world 'riddled' with toxins from repeated 'climate disaster' — but her primary message was one denouncing current means of political representation, including elements of the Democratic Party.
040525 jw trump protest
Thousands of Santa Feans gather at the state Capital for a 'mass mobilization' protest on Saturday, April 5, 2025, against President Donald Trump. The event was echoed around the country with over one thousand protests in large cities and small towns alike to speak out against tariffs, DOGE, mass firings in the government and foreign policy.
' I wish I could say that we have amazing Democratic leadership in our state, but I have to tell you instead that we watched … amazing environmental and climate justice bills get killed by this Democratically controlled Legislature because this Legislature … has been captured by industry,' she said.
' The hard truth is that we have not built the alternative populist movement that is necessary to meet this moment, but we're starting now. Right?' she said to cheers.
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández reiterated a point she made at a town hall she held last weekend, noting a swing of only three House Republicans voting with Democrats would equalize their numbers.
040525 jw trump protest
Thousands of Santa Feans gather at the state Capital for a 'mass mobilization' protest on Saturday, April 5, 2025, against President Donald Trump. The event was echoed around the country with over one thousand protests in large cities and small towns alike to speak out against tariffs, DOGE, mass firings in the government and foreign policy.
"They always vote for the billionaires," she said. "But they are feeling the heat. They are feeling the heat because across the country we're doing town halls. We are showing up at rallies like this. ... We are not standing by the sidelines, and we only need three."
This is a developing story and will be updated.
