‘Hands Off!’ Thousands Gather at Courthouse to Protest Trump and Musk

Love him or hate him, there is no doubt that Donald Trump has transformed the American political scene. 

On Saturday afternoon, thousands in Collier County and millions across the United States came out to protest a wide variety of Trump administration policies they say are hurting this country and its people. The rally in Naples was one of over 1,300 rallies in all 50 U.S. states, including in every congressional district in Florida.

In Naples, approximately 2,500 to 3,000 people gathered at the steps of the Collier County Courthouse for a rally titled “Hands Off!” carrying a diverse collection of homemade signs, as well as dozens of American flags. They heard briefly from event coordinator Paul Stephens of Indivisible, then streamed over to US 41, where they lined the street several deep for hundreds of yards, spilling over to the far side of the highway and around the corner of Airport Rd.

Passersby in their cars who responded to the group appeared overwhelmingly supportive, with waves, high fives, and a solid cacophony of honking horns. The demonstrators, as urged by their organizers, were peaceful and courteous. 

Protesters highlighted many specific issues, including Medicare, Social Security, tariffs, high and rising prices, policy toward Ukraine and Russia, wholesale layoffs of government workers, corruption, renaming the Gulf of Mexico, and the influence of Elon Musk and his DOGE (Dept. of Government Efficiency) team. But, the overriding or underlying issue for many attendees was concern for democracy itself. 

“Our democracy is at risk,” said Sue Senior of Naples. “We don’t want a dictator.” 

“We’re seeing our democracy being pulled away from us,” said Martha Warner, carrying a sign that read “Cleanup on Aisle 47.” 

“We’re in a constitutional crisis created by a convicted felon,” said Michael Vance (no relation to the Vice President, he added). “It makes me want to cry.” 

“Our country is being taken over by a tyranny. They’re bowing to Putin,” said Maggie Miller, who had a bullhorn amplifying her views. “Donald Trump has put our country up for sale.” 

The signs the protesters carried expressed their views succinctly. With the local Indivisible chapter having been in existence less than a month, and without large-scale sponsorship, most of the signs were individual and handmade, expressing creativity as well as anger. 

“Lay Off the Layoffs.” “Trump Call Home 1-800-MOSCOW.” “This Musk Stop.” “Now You’ve Pissed Off Grandma.” “Fight Truth Decay!” “Honk for Democracy” “All of my outrage can’t fit on this sign.” “Hands Off Our Constitution.” “Elect a Clown, Expect a Circus.” “I need to be able to tell my grandchildren I did not stay silent!” “It’s not right or left – it’s right or wrong.”

Along with the outrage, though, another emotion manifested itself: fear. Many attendees were willing to speak with a reporter but declined to give their last name, or any name, or have their photos taken. Paul Stephens of Indivisible said that dozens of people were willing to show up, but not to officially register, for fear of what might be done with that list of names. Others didn’t want to antagonize their neighbors – “I gotta live in this community – I know I’m in a minority.” 

Not afraid to speak up was Jane Schlechtweg, chair of Collier Democrats and Marco Island resident. 

“I think everybody is upset about what is happening. I’m beyond upset – I’m furious,” she said. “I’m the shopper in the family. I see prices doubling. He promised prices would go down. Promises made, promises broken.” 

People are concerned their Social Security benefits will be cut or much harder to access after thousands of government workers are cut. “These are benefits they’ve earned, not an entitlement,” said Schlechtweg. “They’ve cut the veterans’ suicide prevention hotline. These are people who have given part or all of their lives for our country – not, as he said, ‘losers and suckers.’” 

While Democrats are outnumbered nearly three to one countywide and five to one on Marco Island, “there are still over 53,000 registered Democrats, and we need to have our voices heard.” She expressed the hope that recent moves by President Trump and Elon Musk, particularly regarding Social Security and tariffs that are tanking the economy, might make some Republicans reconsider their support for the President’s policies. 

Indivisible is hoping to put together another rally on April 19 in conjunction with veterans’ support groups, but plans have not been finalized, said Stephens.