“They’re literally wiping their asses with the constitution,” said Don Roff, local author, filmmaker and veteran.

Roff was one of roughly 400 protesters who gathered at the Walla Walla County Superior Courthouse on April 5 to demonstrate against the Trump administration.

The event was organized locally by Nora Marie, Maria Garcia and Kate VanDonge in tandem with a nationwide day of action coordinated by the 50501 movement and “Hands Off!“.

While protesters’ signs commented on issues ranging from trans rights to tariffs, the crowd was united in their desire to protect democracy from what “Hands Off!” describes on their website as a “hostile takeover” by Donald Trump and Elon Musk. As they say, the “Hands Off!” demonstrations aimed at protecting the rights of Americans, rather than fighting across party lines.

Walla Walla was the location of one of over 1,200 protests that took place in all 50 states on April 5. Across the country, an estimated 1 million protestors filled American streets. 

At 2:30 p.m., the crowd gathered together in front of the courthouse to listen to speaker Rodney Outlaw and to go over guidelines intended to ensure the protest remained peaceful before their official departure downtown at 2:50 p.m. Alongside these guidelines were designated “safety marshals,” local volunteers in orange vests trained by Louis Gonzales prior to the event, who were tasked with helping direct the protesters through downtown Walla Walla.

Outlaw’s speech was met with cheers from the audience throughout as he described his experience finding a place for himself as a Black man in Walla Walla. He ended with a unifying call to action, emphasizing the need for continued mobilization and solidarity.

“This is not about democrats or republicans. This is not about party lines. This is about right versus wrong, justice versus injustice, the future versus the past… This isn’t just a march. It’s the first step in a long-term action plan,” Outlaw said. 

Shortly after Outlaw’s address, the large group of protesters began a slow precession down Main Street toward Heritage Square. 

The messages projected on the colorful sea of signs ranged from the grave, “No empathy, no morals, only greed,” to humorous, “Ikea has better cabinets!”; general, “Stand up, America,” to specific, “Save Medicare”; tame, “Pro-democracy,” to a more provocative, “The Turd Reich,” complete with images of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, JD Vance, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu in Nazi uniforms.

The vast array of signs was accompanied by varying reasonings for community members to engage with the march. Don Roff marched with a sign reading “Veterans Against Trump.”

“I’m 58 years old, I’ve never seen anything like this. When I signed up for the military and defended our country, everybody was told to raise their right hand and swear to defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” said Roff. “Usually, it’s always been foreign, right? But now it feels like the enemy’s within.”

Roff was not alone in his message. Local resident Charlie Lawrence’s sign had one simple message: “Hands off veteran services.”

“I’m a vet, and when I was drafted in 1966 I figured when I got out I’d have some veterans affairs – things I could fall back on. Well, guess what? They’re slashing everything,” Lawrence said.

Although the crowd skewed older, many protesters shared Howell’s concern for younger generations.

Local teachers Steve Moor and Stephanie Ashley were out on behalf of their students. 

“I love my kids [that I teach], but more than that, I love peaceful people in the world,” Moor said. “I just don’t see this administration backing up peace in any place where they’re supposed to be acting as peacemakers and fighters, they’re not.” 

His colleague Ashley had a similar sentiment, saying, “I love the kids that I teach. I love my country, and I see how much America can do good. I want to make sure that everyone has the right to be heard.”

Sabrina Clinehens marched with a sign that read, “Universities are not the enemy.”

“Universities are a place of learning, where young people develop who they are going to be… It would be horrible to have… universities very much diminished or people in fear of speaking out and being themselves and trying new ideas in universities,” Clinehens said.

Despite the older age demographic, local high school student Abigail Blackham saw this as an opportunity to bring more awareness to the current actions of the administration, especially for her fellow peers. “I’m out here today because we need to fight for our future. We need to be protesting because if we’re not, there’s going to be less awareness,” Blackham said. “When you address it and you bring it up, people are going to realize and want to be involved more.”

The march went from the front lawn of the courthouse up West Main Street to Heritage Square Park, taking Spokane Street over to Alder Street before returning to the courthouse. On their journey, the crowd was cheered on by many going about their day in Walla Walla. However, the marchers inevitably also dealt with vocal dissenters along the way. A man walking his German Shepherd in the opposite direction continuously said, “Go Trump,” to the marchers. A passing truck driver pointed in the opposite direction of the march, saying, “California’s that way!”

Despite the hecklers, the protesters followed the guidelines and didn’t engage with any dissenters. Once the crowd returned to the courthouse, there were a few younger speakers who took the podium to speak their minds, followed by a Ukrainian community member who retold the story of their brother who passed during the Ukraine-Russia war. Maria Garcia returned to the microphone, ending the march by reminding the audience of how they can be aware of future events. 

“There is an app for people interested in being a part of activities and activism. Go on to the Team Reach app, and you can join the team using the code WallaNetwork25,” said Garcia. “Our primary goal is building a broad coalition of people in our community, building that sense of community among people who might not otherwise have been connected because we’re all in our bubbles.”

The protest succeeded in that sense, bringing people of all ages, races, genders, sexualities and political parties together for one event of solidarity. The march also left many inexperienced protesters with a lasting dedication to doing more political work. Charlie Lawrence spoke on his first experience being active in protest.

“We’ve always voted and we’ve always complained to each other about stuff, but we’ve never been out and active,” Lawrence said, referring to himself and his wife.

When asked if he would remain politically active following the march, Lawrence said, “Oh yes! Yes, yes, have to. Very much have to.”

Linda Howell also expressed her commitment to becoming more vocal in Trump’s second term.

“I didn’t approve of [Trump] the first time, but I didn’t do a lot,” Howell said. “I believe this is what I have to do. I have to make phone calls, I have to send emails, I have to do whatever I can… Things are getting worse every day. I’m 83, I’m on social security, the stock market has crashed practically. I’m worried for my kids, I’m worried for my grandkids.”

The nationwide “Hands Off!” movement saw a large turnout all across the country. Despite being separated by distance, the protesters came together in their message promoting democracy and individual action.

“Hope without action turns to heartbreak… What I’ve seen, what so many of us have seen, is that support is often conditional, but the work, the real, unglamorous work, is often shouldered by outsiders, by organizations, by those who bring the resources into our community,” Outlaw said. “Without them, where does the work go? Who picks up the torch? It is us, the people. It is our time to pick up the torch.”