‘Hands Off’ protest held in Washington square

WASHINGTON — A crowd turned out to Washington’s downtown area Saturday for a roughly 90-minute “Hands Off” protest opposing a handful of policies enacted by President Donald Trump in the first several months of his second term, synchronized with a flurry of similar rallies across the nation on the same day.

Starting in the early afternoon, protesters could be heard around the square chanting, “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here,” making impassioned speeches, or, at one point, singing Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.”

“Especially in rural Iowa, I think a lot of local people feel really isolated, and don’t really feel as if we have a voice, as if there are not other people with the same concerns,” said Lynnette Iles, one of the event’s organizers. “Having gatherings like this, it lets us know that we are not alone. And by being visible, it allows other people … to know that they are not the only ones who have these concerns.”

Protesters gave a variety of reasons for their attendance to Washington’s march, which organizers said drew about 75 people. Iles said she was driven by concerns about the deportation and imprisonment hundreds of people, mostly men of Venezuelan heritage, without due process, as well as worries about abortion policies and defunding of once government-backed scientific research, an important area for the former physician.

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Co-organizer Julie Gentz said she was motivated by the administration’s efforts to oversee academic material, disciplinary measures, admission decisions and hiring practices at universities and colleges. Linda Boston, who also attended Saturday’s protest, cited worries about climate change and environmental damage, for which the Trump administration has removed a handful of protections.

“Nothing will change unless we get a real revolt among as many possible citizens as we can,” Boston said. “Each new group that starts puts more pressure on our legislators, about whether they want to get our vote, or they want to follow Trump … it’s the only way things will change, when enough people put pressure on our legislators to do something.”

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Gentz and Iles are the cofounders of Indivisible Iowa’s Washington branch, as of a few weeks ago. Saturday’s protest lined up with a date for several similar rallies across the nation, the second wave of a series organized by Indivisible groups, which have dubbed them “Hands Off!” protests.

Over 1,200 such demonstrations were planned by at least 150 such organizations across the country April 19, according to one CBS article.

Boston, Iles and Gentz said similar events were planned every two weeks for the foreseeable future.

“It’s just the beginning,” Boston said. “It’s just a little part of what’s going to happen. And by us starting our group, we’ve encouraged another small community to start a group … that is that forward motion, of more and more and more people speaking out.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com