Thousands of Coloradans gathered at the state Capitol in Denver on Saturday to attend the month’s second Hands Off! protest against the Trump administration’s policies regarding immigrants, civil rights and marginalized communities. 

The protest was organized by young people from groups like Women’s Strike, Raise Her Voice, and the Party for Socialism and Liberation, according to co-organizer McKenzie Hales, 20. The Colorado State Patrol estimated about 3,000 people were in attendance as protesters began to march at 1:30 p.m. The previous Hands Off! rally in Denver April 5 attracted more than 8,000 attendees. 

Image

Similar protests happened in cities across Colorado, such as Boulder, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and Fort Collins. Similar protests were planned throughout the country.

“We deserve a country that doesn’t just say the word ‘freedom’ but one that practices it,” Hales said. 

Mandy Swartz, an organizer with Raise Her Voice, a group that teaches political skills to women and marginalized communities, told Colorado Newsline that including young people in the protest is a way to ensure the momentum continues. 

Swartz said she had several “doors slammed in (her) face” as a young organizer, and she wants to change that dynamic for today’s youths.  

“We need to pass the torch on to our youths,” Swartz said. “When we’re gone, we need our youths to carry this on.” 

Protesters started gathering at the intersection of Lincoln Street and East 14th Avenue about 90 minutes before the protest began. Many carried upside-down American flags — a symbol of distress — and homemade signs calling for the protection of due process rights for legal immigrants like Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the administration of President Donald Trump erroneously sent to prison in El Salvador without allowing him to have a court hearing. 

Image

As the crowd grew, protest songs like “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield, “Can You Get to That” by Funkadelic, and “Revolution” by The Beatles could be heard playing through loudspeakers. The smell of burning sage and marijuana hung in the air. Passersby honked car horns in a show of solidarity with the protesters. 

Police officers in unmarked cars drove down Lincoln Street to keep protesters on the sidewalks. Once the crowd became too large, police shut down the intersection and diverted traffic away from Lincoln Street.

Speakers highlighted the deportation proceedings against local labor organizer Jeanette Vizguerra as an example of the unfair treatment immigrants are receiving under Trump. Vizgeurra’s arrest drew widespread condemnation across the country, with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston likening it to “Putin-style political persecution.” 

Some also called on congressional and local lawmakers to repair the social contract for marginalized groups like people with disabilities, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. Others spoke in opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza and what they characterized as America’s complicity in the conflict. 

“Until we address and rebuild America’s foundation, this house will fall,” said Dr. Robert Davis (no relation to the author), an activist with the Denver Task Force to Reimagine Policing.