From Angola to Adams County, crowds large and small gathered around northeast Indiana Saturday as part of the nationwide Hands Off! Protest against recent actions by President Donald Trump and a Republican-led Congress.
While there were more than 1,000 gathered in the rain on the Allen County Courthouse Green at noon, 30 gathered in the front of the Noble County Courthouse in Albion as the clock on the building struck 11 a.m.
That is a big number for the heavily-Republican county, said Kim Murphy, the chair of the Noble County Democratic Party.
“Tariffs hurt farmers! Tariffs hurt farmers!” the small group chanted as a few vehicles on Indiana 9 honked their horns.
By the end of the scheduled hour, there were about 50 people gathered for Noble County’s protest, Murphy said.
No incidents or interference was reported, he said.
Allen County’s protest lined both sides of Clinton Street from Wayne to Main streets. Speeches went out over the loudspeakers, and a DJ played music.
But it was hard to hear them over all the horns from vehicles on the heavily-travelled road.
Retiree Pam Barcelow came to protest out of concern for her country.
"This is a huge source of encouragement to see that I am not the only one who has it up to here with the nonsense going on in Washington D.C. and a Congress that refuses to do its job," she said. "I'm loving every minute of it, and every rain drop."
Leroy Jackson, Jr. remembered protesting alongside his father for civil rights 60 years ago, and now finds himself doing it again.
"We're trying to get our country back," he said over the honking horns. "The people that are taking our country from us don't care about us being out here. We're doing this to support each other, to try to make a difference...I'm fighting for everybody. I just feel terrible about it."
Signs expressed concerns about cuts to Social Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, poked fun at Trump and Republican local elected federal representatives Senator Jim Banks, Senator Todd Young and Rep. Marlin Stutzman.
There were also signs mocking Trump’s largest campaign donor Elon Musk, who the president has identified as the head of the executive branch-created Department of Government Efficiency.
Twenty-two protests were planned throughout Indiana, part of the national day of action “to preserve democracy and stop unconstitutional overreach by the Trump administration.” Organizations working together included the Indivisible Project, MoveOn, the Working Family Party and 50501, according to local organizers.
The Associated Press reported that there were 1,200 demonstrations planned in all 50 states, organized by more than 150 groups including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and elections activists.
