On Saturday, April 5th, thousands of people assembled peacefully around Niagara Square as part of the Hands Off protest happening nationwide. The event was the biggest single-day protest against the Trump Administration’s second term in office, with 100,000 people organized in both Washington D.C. and New York City, and an estimated total of three million people across the country.
The movement stands against Trump and Musk having too much power in office, and demands that they “take their hands off” matters such as federal jobs, Medicaid, social security, education, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and mass deportation.
Protesters started by gathering in Niagara Square and in front of city hall, bringing different rights organization groups onto a stage to talk about what they were fighting for, before marching down Delaware Ave., and across Chippewa St. onto Niagara Street. Buffalo police estimate roughly 3,000 people were a part of the event.
Another peaceful assembly is being held by the 50501 movement in Niagara Square on April 19th. The movement previously held a protest there in February against the massive wave of executive orders signed by Trump and the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.).
