‘Hands Off!’ protests draw thousands across Mendocino County to oppose Trump, Musk  

MENDOCINO CO., 4/5/25 – Protests took place across Mendocino County on Saturday, including in Fort Bragg, Gualala, Point Arena and Ukiah as part of an orchestrated day of protest called Hands Off!  

The event was organized by Indivisible, a progressive movement generated in response to the 2016 election of Donald Trump, MoveOn, a grassroots political action group formed in 1998, and other activist groups.  

The protests in Mendocino County were meant to demonstrate opposition to the Trump Administration, Elon Musk, recent tariffs that have touched off a trade war, mass layoffs of federal workers, and other actions of the new administration.  

Two reporters from The Mendocino Voice covered the protests, Susan Nash in Fort Bragg and Sydney Fishman in Ukiah. 

In Fort Bragg, a noisy crowd took off on an unplanned march

The crowd in Fort Bragg was estimated at nearly a thousand people, with dozens more drivers honking their horns in support as they drove by the city’s Town Hall. Wandering musicians and a moving street play of masked men taking Lady Liberty away in chains created a festive atmosphere alongside heartfelt demands for action. 

Fort Bragg resident Bob Kelsey came out with a “Hands Off Our Democracy” sign because he is “pretty upset with the government right now,” he said. That sentiment, and some creative sign-making, were evident along the crowded sidewalks and street corners, with some protesters picking their pet issue (“Hands Off Libraries”) and others using a broader brush (“Hands Off Every Damn Thing”). 

“Don’t blame me, I voted for the prosecutor, not the felon,” said one sign. Another was more predictive: “American will be Trump’s 7^th bankruptcy.”  

Even penguins made it into the mix. “Send Trump to Heard Island,” said one sign, referring to an uninhabited Australian territory that is a marine reserve for penguins and other wildlife that was included in Trump’s tariff announcements earlier this week. 

Well-known local artist John Hewitt worked on a new watercolor from the vantage point of the Fort Bragg Town Hall green. “I’m capturing the mood,” Hewitt said. 

And the mood was patriotic. American flags were everywhere, from big ones on the back of pickup trucks to the upside-down version that is the universal sign of distress. Although Mendocino’s voting population is far from monolithic (of 62,651 registered voters, 25,483 are registered Democrat, 12,577 Republican, and 22,688 people decline to state), no counter-protesters appeared, and only a few drivers yelled out obscenities.  

The crowd finished the event by transforming itself into a march around a two-block radius, behind a banner reading, “The Future is in our Hands.”   

In Ukiah, demonstrators leaned on music and signs to signal their displeasure 

Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Mendocino County Courthouse in downtown Ukiah.  

The sidewalks along South State and East Perkins streets were packed with people holding signs, flags, and other colorful emblems to show their displeasure with the Trump administration.  

Attendees included teachers, veterans, medical professionals, high school students and other activists. Some older demonstrators, drawing on their experience protesting during the 1960s and ’70s, wore colorful outfits and peace sign necklaces.  

One elderly protester held a sign reading, “Keep your tiny, filthy hands off the American people.”  

Cars drove past the event honking in solidarity, with some drivers displaying signs in the rear windows of their vehicles.  

At the height of the event, as many as a thousand protesters crowded the streets surrounding the courthouse, with some sitting on chairs and blankets, playing instruments and treating the demonstration like a festival. 

“My husband is a veteran — they are at the top of my list,” said Buffy Edwards. Edwards has lived in Mendocino County for about 45 years. “If veteran benefits have not been cut, then they are going to be cut. Trump is not for the veterans; he doesn’t have a clue when it comes to that stuff. He is firing generals, and no one in his family has served.”  

Another protester, whose husband was also a veteran, noted that going to the protest was one of the only ways to make her feel like she was creating change.  

“This was one way I could try to help,” said Clare, who declined to give her last name due to possible backlash. She moved to Mendocino County from Georgia 50 years ago. “My husband was a Vietnam veteran, and right now, jobs that would have helped veterans are being cut.” 

She said she feels hopeful that young activists will be able to bring about change in Mendocino County and beyond.  

“I feel like the whole situation is unreal, but I do feel hope, that somehow things will get better,” she said. “Young people just need to keep their eyes open and listen to whatever is going to be beneficial.”  

Lynda McClure, a member of the Mendocino Women’s Political Coalition, a group dedicated to getting more women engaged in politics and policymaking, and an activist for several decades who has attended many rallies, said this was one of the largest demonstrations she had witnessed in Ukiah. 

She said without continued activism, there will be no change in how the government operates. “As it’s always been, it takes the people of this country to make our government get back on track. We have to do it,” she explained. “We are in a monumental time, and I am very encouraged today by people coming out.”  

She added that she’s particularly hopeful because of the actions she’s seeing in other states in the Midwest and South. 

“I am encouraged by the vote in Wisconsin for the liberal woman judge,” she noted. “There’s a shift going on in Florida, with marches going on there. I am encouraged by the direction that some parts of the country seem to be moving.”  

A small group of counter protesters showed up at the beginning of the event, including one Trump supporter holding a sign reading “Let’s Go Brandon,” an anti-President Joe Biden slogan.  

Demonstrations were held all over Northern California, including Eureka, Oakland, San Francisco, and Santa Rosa. According to the Associated Press, more than 1,200 events took place across the country.  

Lin Due and Sarah Stierch contributed to this story.