Valley residents had a good showing at ‘Hands Off’ rally

Laura Mancuso
IVN editor

Illinois Valley residents turned out in droves the afternoon of April 5 for the Hands Off rally in Grants Pass in front of the Josephine County Courthouse. Overall, there were close to 1,000 people in attendance at the protest. The Illinois Valley News was in attendance to capture the moment. Hands Off rallies were held the same day all over the United States, with a huge turnout on the West Coast.
When participants were asked why they came to the event, they said: “I wanted to take a stand against bullies,” “We need to speak up about Trump and Musk’s illegal activities!” “I am worried about Social Security being cut,” and “I’m here to support the library.”
It was very interesting to see the creative signs that people made, like “Commissioners, Hands Off our Libraries,” “I Don’t Trust President Musk,” “No Oligarchs No Kings!” “We the People ARE THE People! Not just the Rich, Privileged and Few!” and so many more. Some protesters brought quilts that had “RESIST” stitched in the pattern, large American flags, banners and one wore a T-shirt that said, “Ban Liars & Crooks Not History Books.”

Most of the protesters stood in front of the courthouse from B and C streets, but some Hands Off protesters stood across the street next to a group of Republicans that held up “Vote Trump Vance” signs. Only about 20 counterprotestingTrump supporters showed up.
Children wrote “Trump is Mean” with sidewalk chalk on the corner of C and 6th Street. You could hear the crowd chanting “Lock him Up!” and “Hands Off!” with the rhythmic sounds of drums that seemed to keep the crowd motivated to show emotion.
Although it was a very peaceful protest, law enforcement was in attendance just in case things got out of hand. Vehicles with many passengers drove by with protest signs to support the rally and honked their horns in support, while some antagonists driving trucks revved their engines and the drivers showed their middle finger to the rally attendees.

The I.V. News witnessed local community leaders such as North Valley Middle School teacher Bob Bath, former Grant Pass City Councilor Vanessa Ogier, and Democratic Party leader Richard Flora, who spoke at the top of the courthouse steps with a megaphone and had the crowd chanting Hands Off messages.
A group of I.V. residents led by Michelle Windust with a megaphone, performed a demonstration that had two-sided posters. On one side of the poster had a complaint about the Trump administration and the reverse side was in yellow with black letters that spelled out “Trump is a felon and that’s why we’re yellin!” Some of the complaints on the posters: “Trump’s Corrupt – But we never give up,” “We’re losing our rights,” “He doesn’t care about our veterans,” “He doesn’t care about our seniors,” “He doesn’t care about women,” and others.
One thing most protesters seemed to agree on was they expected to attend more rallies in the future to speak up about their rights.