Hands off Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, public lands, consumer protections, immigrants and personal data – that is the message delivered by about 500 protesters who lined both sides of Eggerts Crossing Road to protest President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
The April 5 protest was one of more than 1,200 coordinated rallies that took place nationwide in a pushback against changes made by Trump and Musk through the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency.
The protesters, some of whom waved small American flags, held aloft signs that said “Resist,” “MAGA – Morons Are Governing America,” “Hands Off America” and “We are not okay” written over an upside down American flag.
Organizers said the country is facing a national crisis, according to their https://handsoff2025.com website. Democracy, livelihoods and rights are all on the line in a hostile takeover of the United States. It called for protesters across the country to “march, rally, disrupt and demand an end to this billionaire power grab.”
The “Hands Off” rally in Lawrence Township, meanwhile, was co-sponsored by the Lawrence Citizen Activists, which is an Indivisible Group in partnership with Indivisible National, and the Lawrence Chapter of the League of Women Voters and Lawrence Neighbors Together.
It is not unusual for the League of Women Voters to take action on issues that its members are passionate about, said Nicole Plett, co-chair of the Lawrence Township chapter.
“Today, the League of Women Voters chapters across the country are joining the protest and lifting our voices to protect voters’ rights, Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security,” Plett said.
About 400 people had signed up to participate in the protest by Saturday morning. Many more who had not signed up also turned out, organizers said. There were estimates of as many 600 people at the Lawrence Township protest.
Some drivers honked their vehicle’s horn and waved to the protesters in a show of support as they drove on Eggerts Crossing Road. They were greeted with cheers of “Woo-hoo” from the protesters.
Speakers that included Laura Waddell of New Jersey Citizen Action, activist Fred Vereen Jr. and Mayor Patricia Hendricks Farmer called on the protesters to continue to raise their voices.
“We are here because our future and our dignity are under attack,” Waddell said to cheers from the crowd. “This is a moral moment, but together we will turn it into a movement.”
The Rev. Jeffrey Vamos of the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville said there must be resistance to cruel policies that do damage to people. He said he has witnessed many people who have been damaged by those policies.
“It is good we are here,” Vamos said. “We need to care for our neighbors – maybe somebody who does not look like you or thinks like you.”
Vereen, a community activist who grew up in the Eggerts Crossing neighborhood, said that “we have come a long way, but we have a long way to go. We need to deal with racism. We have to look at each other. Our blood is the same color, no matter what is on the outside.”
“They try to pit us against each other,” he said. “Some people of color are fearful to speak truth to power, but we have to do it. What is wrong is wrong, what is right is right.”
Kate Schumacher, who is the co-president of the Lawrence Chapter of the League of Women Voters, said democracy will not defend itself. It needs defenders to show up more often.
The League of Women Voters has defended democracy for more than 100 years. She said she does not know how to raise the alarm bells even more.
“Hands off our voting rights. It’s a right, and the League of Women Voters is here to protect that right. The fight belongs to all of us. Raise your voice, then you can’t be ignored. Hands off now,” she said as the crowd repeated “hands off now, hands off now.”
Famer praised the protesters for coming out and using their voices to protect the United States Constitution.
“This is what the United States looks like, this is what Lawrence looks like,” she said. “The world is looking. Hands off, hands off, hands off.”
