LOGAN – A scheduled protest against Trump administration policies drew more than 200 local residents to Cache County’s Historic Courthouse on April 5.
The local rally was part of a National Day of Action across the country, with rallies in big cities like Washington, Philadelphia and Chicago,as well as others in more than 1,000 communities both large and small. The event was organized by a coalition of anti-Trump groups under the aegis of “HandsOFF!”
The peaceful crowd listened to speakers who railed against President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s joint efforts rid the federal government of fraud, waste and abuse; demanded fair treatment for fired federal employees of the departments of Veteran Affairs, Education, State and Health and Human Services; and warned of deep benefit cuts looming for Social Security and Medicare.
The high point of the afternoon event came when guest speaker Mary DeSilva drew a raucous cheer from the audience when she called newly confirmed Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. “an idiot” for his stance in opposing vaccinations to prevent disease.
A native of Cache Valley, Da Silva is as a retired registered nurse with 27 years of experience in the surveillance of communicable diseases.
She ran unsuccessfully for the Utah Legislature in 2020 and was a vocal supporter of mandatory masking for in-person attendance in Logan public schools in 2021, citing expert guidance from Center for Disease Control, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Utah State Board of Health and the Utah Board of Education.
In addition to its display of opposition, the rally also surveyed attendees’ concerns about the Trump agenda so that they could be transmitted to Utah elected officials, according to organizer Jim Evans.
The “HandOFF” event drew a broad spectrum of local residents, from elderly hippies to concerned students from Utah State University and even a smattering of youngsters from high schools as well.
The protest signs at the gathering ran the gamut from the usual anti-Trump and “HandsOFF” slogans to “Free Palestine” and LBGTQ+ rhetoric.
News reports promoting the local protest touched off a blizzard of comment on social media, with Trump advocates predicting that the event would be “staged” with paid protesters imported from the Wasatch Front.
There seemed to be no evidence of that on Saturday, however. None of the attendees arrived by buses and pre-printed signs were definitely in the minority.
The local event’s organizers also issued a public announcement that attendees should not engage with counter-protesters, but nothing of that sort materialized.
At the national level, the “HandsOff!” protest were orchestrated by opposition heavy-weight organizations like the Progressive Democrats of America, the Women’s March, Pubic Citizen, MoveOn, labor unions and others.
The “Hands Off” protests were expected to be the largest and most numerous demonstrations since Trump’s second term began, with more than 500,000 people having signaled their intent to attend across the country. The biggest protest was expected to be in Washington, D.C.
USA Today reported that by 1 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, protesters stretched as far as the eye could see along the National Mall and the crowd had been flowing toward the base of the Washington Monument for hours.