Photo Sets

Photo Set 1-https://la.indymedia.org/news/2025/04/302461.php

Photo Set 2-https://la.indymedia.org/news/2025/04/302481.php

Photo Set 3-https://la.indymedia.org/news/2025/04/302501.php

Photo Set 4-https://la.indymedia.org/news/2025/04/302521.php

Photo Set 5-https://la.indymedia.org/news/2025/04/302541.php

Photo Set 6-https://la.indymedia.org/news/2025/04/302561.php



Over 1400 protests occurred on April 5th according the organizers of Hands Off. These were in small towns and many of the largest cities of the United States while demonstrations also occurred in Austria, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Portugal and The United Kingdom.

The focus of these rallies is on Donald Trump and his sugar daddy Elon Musk's perceived illegal, unconstitutional and decimating actions that have occurred in these first three months of Trumps Presidency. The outrages that have been cited as a cause for these local middle class political eruptions runs the gamut from Musk and his minions sticking their money hungry digital snouts into the American Domestic Institutions of Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, the Department of Education, foreign aid initiatives such as PEPFAR and things as obscure as selling off ham radio frequencies . Trump and his cohort are threatening the environment by practicing a denial based climate policy, while threatening the world economy as well with his regressive tariff policies.

The news of sudden and illegal mass firings in fundamental federal institutions such as the CDC, the FDA, Health and Human Services and FEMA is causing a panic throughout the nation. Events like the personally vindictive and corrupt mass firings at the FBI or the dismissal of 17 Inspector Generals or the dismissal of 7000 IRS employees who specialized in higher level corporate and personal tax evasion cases. This has alarmed and enraged large numbers of Americans who do not want and will not stand for their countries progress to be erased by the whims of a purely transactional tyrant wannabe.

Donald Trump's criminality, his anti DEI obsessions and his general lack of common sense empathy for those less fortunate is perhaps starting a great tide of American reaction against his questionable and traitorous practices.

These marches and commiserations give the hope that maybe this posers grandiose financial plans will soon be seen for what they are. . . . . . a profoundly terrible money grab from America's public coffers. Maybe the country will wake up to his wacky financial approaches ( that had bankrupted three gambling casinos ) before we lose what generations of Americans had given their lives to build and hand off to us. Perhaps we can keep the gift of democracy our ancestors gave us and not hand it over to a confidence man man who buried his wife on one of his gulf courses to save a little dough.



At our Los Angeles gathering a crowd reportedly approaching 100,000 gathered at Pershing square where many great LA marches have started for years.

The crowd had a sense of humor. The general feeling was that of anger and disgust but it was commonly tempered by a bitter, bitter knee slapping sarcasm.

It was a smart gathering with far more seniors than usual. But the protest was also composed of handicapped folks, anti Nazi people, teachers, federal employees, scientists, families, clergy, hispanic, asian, black , native and trans people. There were conservatively dressed citizens from old families and old punks with grand kids. This was along with tons of soccer moms, workers, union members, old and young feminists and a few babies.

There seemed to at first to be a weird feeling of stagnant panic in the crowd which disappeared as the march started. Maybe it was the relief that one was not sitting in one's living room and freaking out alone that was prevailing.

The scene turned into theater as it progressed down Hill St. to City Hall. Rage was the motif and everyone just let loose. As a note this was a completely nonviolent event, both locally and worldwide !

Elon Musk was an especially despised target. With his Nazi salutes, his illegal meddling in our federal government and his general chicanery the crowd obsessively condemned him.

The angry chants of “ This is what democracy looks like “ flowed like a holy hymn of citizenship that grew more authentic with every block marched down. Shoulder to shoulder the rejuvenated patriots strode through Grand Park to the City Hall steps chanting that old chestnut !

A punk band of some age was playing as we came into the City Hall Stage. Speakers spoke and people talked to each other. I could see the confidence in this crowd now with their smiles and set jaws being everywhere that one looked.

We were at church.

Maybe there is some hope. Over 1 to 3 million people participated worldwide on April Fifth.

The nationwide event was mildly covered by the mainstream media. Rachel Maddow has been keeping us in the loop though ! Print media mainly buried it. The best coverage came from local television stations.



The Hands Off website can be reached at this link . . . . . .

https://handsoff2025.com/

The good news is that another Hands Off rally is scheduled for April 19th.

Be there if you are deeply concerned about our future as a democracy. Please participate in any way that you can.

Robert Stuart Lowden

Los Angeles, 2025

“ A republic, if you can keep it”.

Benjamin Franklin