On Saturday, April 5, thousands of Colorado State University students and Fort Collins residents gathered in Civic Center Park for the city’s “Hands Off” protest, joining coordinated demonstrations nationwide and across the state.

According to Third Act, the organizer of the event in partnership with IndivisibleNOCO, MoveOn, 50501 and more, these nationwide rallies were organized in response to recent federal actions taken by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, calling on Americans to unite and organize in support of issues that matter to them. More than 1,200 demonstrations were organized across all 50 states, according to the Associated Press, with around 10,000 people attending the march in Denver.

The Hands Off website details the organization’s mission for coordinated community action across the country.

“Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them,” the website’s statement reads. “They’re taking everything they can get their hands on and daring the world to stop them. On Saturday, April 5th, we’re taking to the streets nationwide to fight back with a clear message: Hands off!”

Protesters in Fort Collins echoed this urgency, holding signs that read, “Hands Off Our Rights,” “Resist Fascism” and “Love Over Hate,” among others. The event also featured several speakers, including Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse and League of Women Voters Vice President Kathy Maher, who addressed a wide range of issues, such as immigration rights, LGBTQIA+ support, federal funding cuts and voting access. Many of these messages were met with loud cheers and chanting from the crowd.

“This is what democracy looks like,” Neguse said. “The question we have to ask ourselves as a community is, ‘Will we stand up?’” 

Victoria Silva, a biochemistry and molecular biology student researcher at CSU, addressed the recent federal funding cuts to research and STEM grants in their address, explaining the potential impacts on their field and emphasizing the need to organize in response to these changes.

“Whole futures are being erased,” Silva said. “Whole fields are being gutted, and for what? To keep the billionaire class in control while the rest of us are told to be quiet, be polite and stay in line? But we won’t. The statement, ‘Hands Off,’ is our refusal; hands off of our students, hands off of our science (and) hands off of our committees.” 

One of these issues touched upon by speakers was the recent revocation of six international student visas at CSU, some of whom have already left the country. Ella Smith, a student at CSU studying women and gender studies, condemned the decision and called on both elected officials and the community to take action.

“I am here because I believe that the visa revocations for Colorado State University students is absolutely reprehensible,” Smith said. “We, as students, are here calling not only on the university but also on our representatives and community members to stand against these awful, evil things and make a statement by fighting back.”

After the speeches concluded, the crowd marched south along Howes Street to Mountain Avenue, then continued south on Mason Street before heading east to College Avenue. The group then marched north back to Civic Center Park, halting traffic along downtown College Avenue.

With vehicles rendered stationary on College Avenue, most drivers expressed support for the demonstrators, repeatedly honking their horns and playing politically charged music.

The crowd brought together Fort Collins residents, CSU students and others, united by phrases like “Hands Off,” “Love Not Hate” and “My Body, My Choice,” among others. Fort Collins resident Laurie Morren spoke on the significance of community action and why a movement like this one is so powerful.

“This is amazing,” Morren said. “It feels so great to be out here with like-minded people. People who care about our country and our democracy and are afraid of where we’re headed.”

Demonstrators said the protest was unique because it centered on a multitude of issues, bringing people together from all walks of life to organize around the issues  they care about. When asked why she attended the march, Josie Lopez, another Fort Collins resident, emphasized this collective sense of urgency.

“Why am I not here?” Lopez said. “There’s too many things to choose from. We’re all just trying to survive. I’m just here to support my community and to come together to move forward as one.”

As the march drew to a close and demonstrators dispersed, event organizers from IndivisibleNOCO and 50501 spoke on the success of the event, as well as their personal motivations for protesting.

Tristan McBurney-Bennett is a U.S. military veteran and helped organize the demonstration alongside 50501. McBurney-Bennett described the loss of his sister as his core motivator to continue advocating for the rights of immigrants and the LGBTQIA+ community.

“I hope that I honor her memory and that drives me forward,” McBurney-Bennett said. “Also, the fact that I spent seven years serving this country. When I put on a uniform and signed on the dotted line, I was like, ‘I’m not going to let America fall to fascism,’ and here I am still fighting to make sure America doesn’t fall to fascism.”

IndivisibleNOCO board member Amy Padilla said she was pleased with the outcome of the demonstration, pledging that future community action events are already in the works. Padilla specifically highlighted the group’s upcoming attendance at a town hall hosted by Colorado District 4 Rep. Lauren Boebert April 26.

Padilla also expressed her belief that community action should be organized with a bottom-up approach, encouraging unity within communities regardless of political affiliation.

“We all have to live here,” Padilla said. “It’s about taking care of each other, or we’re not going to make it, and (the Trump administration) is setting us up to not make it. It’s not red versus blue anymore. It’s everybody against the oligarchy.”

A Hands Off protest also took place in Denver, drawing thousands to the Capitol and Civic Center Park. There were also marches organized in Colorado Springs, Boulder, Loveland and elsewhere across Colorado.

Protesters carried signs with messages such as “Respect the Constitution,” “Silence = Compliance,” “Make Empathy Great Again,” “My Dissent is Patriotic” and “Protect Peace and Defend Justice,” among others.

Members of various nonprofits and advocacy groups attended and gave speeches at the Denver protest, along with Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, as reported by The Denver Post.  

Katie Leonard, an organizer for the Denver Party for Socialism and Liberation, attended and spoke about the protests on a national level.

“It’s very clear that this is the beginning stage of an all-out assault on free speech and democratic rights here in this country,” Leonard said. 

Abdullah, an attendee who did not provide a last name, touched on the show of community and solidarity from those who marched.

“There’s a lot of emotions running around right now,” Abdullah said. “People feel a lot of fear right now, you know, by way of deportation, by way of economic class (and) financial insecurity. People are afraid, but also people are very fed up. People are tired of the status quo. … I think marches like this really show how this fight is one, and it shows how the ruling class continues to try to divide us by making us think that these struggles are different.”

Ultimately, he said he is “hopeful for the future.”

An unnamed speaker praised the attendance of the crowd and people showing up for their communities.

“This is what power is, and this is what community and democracy look like,” the speaker said. “The streets is not where our fight ends. It is in every intersection of our lives, and the fight and the revolution lives within each of us, and it carries into everything we do. … It is how you live your life every single day.”

Reach Claire VanDeventer, Sam Hutton and Aubree Miller at news@collegian.com or on social media @CSUCollegian.