Thousands of people gathered at Eugene City Hall on April 5 in opposition against President Donald Trump’s policies. Over 1,000 locations nationwide took part in the “Hands Off!” rally in a National Day of Action.
In one of the largest facilitated protests in 2025, the rally was organized by two national-led organizations. A national movement called “50501” and Indivisible, a locally-led nationally coordinated movement, helped organize the Eugene demonstration and were joined by about 18 other local organizations, 10 speakers and four musical acts at city hall.
Eugene City Councilor Matt Keating was in attendance at the event. In an interview with the Daily Emerald during the rally, he spoke about Eugene’s role in this national movement that was displayed across the nation.
“This is an impressive, inspiring coalition of grassroots activism and advocates who are standing up for what’s right, and saying that the oligarchs, the greedy out-of-touch DOGE billionaire class, that their brand of politics doesn’t belong in our United States, our state and in our community of Eugene,” Keating said.
The rally at Eugene City Hall began at noon and speeches concluded at approximately 2 p.m. Many protestors stayed around as live music and entertainment followed until 3 p.m., concluding the rally.
One of the 10 speakers at the event was Victoria Acosta, who said she was motivated and encouraged to speak in front of the crowd about certain issues pertaining to backlash against the Mexican community.
“I feel like it’s my job to come up here with the privilege that I do and speak for this community that is overlooked and underseen,” Acosta said.
Debbie Williamson, the MC (master of ceremonies) of the event, said she jumped on the opportunity to speak at the rally about issues important to her. She said the current state of America is “frankly terrifying,” and that “America just doesn’t feel very America right now.”
“One of the risks that we’re facing right now is losing the right to free speech, so I’d just like to say ‘thank you’ to every person that showed up somewhere today to fight for our basic freedoms,” Williamson said.
As for the protest’s coverage throughout the nation, The Washington Post reported tens of thousands of people rallying on the National Mall in Washington D.C. “Several thousand people” were reported at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, and other “Hands Off!” protests took place in many different cities across Oregon.
As a local city councilor, Keating believes Trump and Elon Musk want to bring the government “down to the studs” and that it’s their job as municipal leaders to ensure vital services are protected, asking everyone to stand up for the local community.
“This is a ripple effect all across the country,” Keating said. “Donald Trump and Elon Musk don’t represent my values and they certainly don’t represent the values of the 5,000 or so folks who are here today, or the 500,000 plus who are standing up all across the United States.”
