Hundreds of Cape May County residents turned out for rallies in Court House and Ocean City as part of the “Hands Off” national day of protest Saturday, April 5, against the policies and actions of President Donald Trump.
The Ocean City event took the form of a march down Wesley Avenue. Evan Troxel, a journalism student at Rowan University, estimated that about 300 people attended and that they chanted phrases like “Hey hey, ho ho! Donald Trump has got to go!”
In the county seat, a large handmade banner strung across the courthouse’s front columns read: “Red and blue unite against Trump.” Protesters yelled phrases like “This is what democracy looks like” and “Protect our Constitution” to passing cars on Route 9.
The demonstrations in Ocean City and Court House were two of roughly 1,200 events nationwide, spurred by the national organization 50501, which stands for “50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement.” There were also anti-Trump protests on Saturday in cities around the world.
The protests took aim at Trump actions including declarations of national emergency and ensuing tariffs, shuttering of federal programs, calling for the impeachment of federal judges and imposing funding freezes, among many others.
Cape May County has been home to at least four protests of 100 participants or more since the Trump administration came to power.
None were so large as Saturday’s, and that surprised the events’ organizers.
Winn Khuong, executive director of Action Together, told the Herald she was shocked at attendance numbers across the state. Local members of Action Together, inspired by 50501, planned the Ocean City march and others across New Jersey. A protest at Brookdale Park in Essex County, for example, brought 8,000 people, according to NJ.com.
“The numbers were really surprising to me, not only in New Jersey but also New York, Pennsylvania, across the country,” Khuong said. “I think attendance is only going to grow, especially with the tumult of the stock market. People’s life savings are dwindling. I think we are going to see more people protesting.”
Andrea Nieves, who organized the Court House protest with activist group Cape May County Indivisible, said she was stunned by the turnout of “300 to 400 people at a time” across the two-hour event.
The Wall Street Journal, in an April 7 news article, sums up the sentiment echoed at the rallies: “No American president has disrupted so many aspects of the nation’s daily life as President Trump has in less than three months in office.”
Disruption was a major theme with protesters who spoke with the Herald. Frances Gutowski-Rauer, from Villas, said that the current scope of deregulation, led by Trump and Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk, “will end up poisoning us if they have their way, leave us with no health insurance.”
Gutowski-Rauer also worries about Trump’s relationship with countries like El Salvador, where people deported from America have been sent by the administration without due process, and Russia, one of only a few countries in the world not struck by the president’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
“He is alienating allies while coddling dictators! Who will be there for us in our time of need?” she asked.
Lorraine Kilpatrick, from Sea Isle City, said she has attended three protests so far this year and hopes to attend more.
“I was at a protest in Cape May and another at Jeff Van Drew’s office in Northfield. So many groups are joining together, it’s inspiring,” she said.
Kilpatrick held a handmade sign that read: “Hands Off: our bodies, our Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.”
Several people reached out to the Herald to say they could not make the April 5 protests but plan to show up for future events. Maura Bailey, from Cape May, said: “I really wanted to stand in solidarity with my peers and the Hands Off initiative this past weekend, but the 9-5 kept me inside. I’m still holding out hope that community, empathy, and acts of service will prevail.”
Another nationwide protest against the Trump administration is planned by 50501 for April 19, the day before Easter.
Nieves, with Cape May County Indivisible, said that she is unsure when the next protest will take place, but more are being planned.
“We have so many people that want to do so many protests that we are forming a protest committee,” she said.
Contact the reporter, Collin Hall, at chall@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 156.
