HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton Hands Off! Rally, one of 28 across the state, nearly doubled the number of people attending a similar downtown rally last month.
Carrying signs that called for the Trump administration and Elon Musk to take their hands off a long list of freedoms as well as pleas to leave their Canadian neighbors alone, the nearly 100 participants talked about fears for the nation’s future and the importance of standing up to protect democracy..
According to organizers, more than 15,000 Mainers are estimated to have attended the events on Saturday, with nearly 11,000 from Portland, Augusta, Bangor and Brunswick alone. In Aroostook County, a more conservative area with many supporters of President Donald Trump, there were rallies in Houlton and Presque Isle drawing nearly 300.
Houlton co-organizer Mary Miller and a handful of others are part of a statewide peace and justice group that also coordinated March rallies in every Maine county.
“This is our country, with all its painful and glorious history, its wonderful diversity, its possibilities, and realities, for good,” Miller said. “We will not let this brutal administration wreck it. We are proudly joining with people across this land today — I have heard there were around 1,200 demonstrations — to say “Hands Off!”
During the early March Houlton rally, people expressed shame regarding the way Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was disrespected while meeting with the president and vice president in the Oval Office.
A month later, the concerns were more personal, relating to job losses, disruption to Medicaid funding, strained relationships with Canada and European allies, and fears about Social Security.
Others worried about the Trump administration’s apparent retaliation against the state by withholding funding that helps Mainers with costs including emergency heating and school lunches.
Miller said they are anxious about so many actions and policies by the Trump administration that are “dangerous and cruel, devastating and sometimes just stupid.”
“We are determined to oppose them. We are fearful for so many — children, veterans, farmers, immigrants, federal workers, senior citizens, LGBTQ folks, people overseas who are no longer benefiting from our aid and for the earth,” she said.
Mary Alice Mowry of Patten made several Hands Off! signs for participants with messages supporting human rights, gay rights and dignity for the four dead troops whose bodies were returned to America while Trump was golfing.
Marilyn Roper’s message, “Hands off Canada!,” was a shared sentiment among the participants, with many carrying Canadian flags.
Bev Chapman, wearing her pink “pussy hat” and pink Women’s March on Washington T-Shirt from her first Trump administration protests said that silence is the voice of oppression.
Others bemoaned what they see as devastating losses since the January inauguration.
As part of the rally, they collected food and financial donations to support local food pantries because food programs have been cut, Miller said.
“Hopefully, we can take other positive actions toward mitigating the harm coming from the Trump administration,” she said.
A core group of local organizers has been meeting regularly over the years to plan this and other activities related to issues of social justice and democracy. Following Saturday’s rally that lasted longer than projected, organizers met at the Unitarian Universalist Church to plan future actions, said Miller.
