Hands Off protest held in Moses Lake on Saturday

MOSES LAKE – Around 120 people gathered near Walgreens on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump and his administration for a “Hands Off” protest, according to Grant County Democrats Vice Chair Jill Springer Forrest.  

Protestors came from both sides of the aisle and had a variety of reasons for gathering including Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, fair elections, personal data, public lands, veterans' services, cancer research, NATO, consumer protections, clean air, clean energy, schools, libraries, free speech, LGBTQ+ rights and immigration concerns.  

“We are looking at this situation with Trump and Elon Musk cancelling everything, our business, our infrastructure, everything’s getting torn apart and pretty soon we are worried that our democracy is going to go next,” Springer Forrest said. “Everyone is out here for a different reason, but there are so many organizations that he is tearing apart, bit by bit, and we don’t know what we can do to stop it, but do this – protest.”  

The Hands Off protests are a series of demonstrations launched across the United States on April 5, in a nationwide display of public resistance against the second administration of President Donald Trump. Another protest was held in Ephrata on April 5.  

Dee Durham from Ephrata said she was at Saturday’s protest to let people know these protests aren't just complaints from younger people. She said this was her second protest since the Vietnam War, the Ephrata gathering being her first.  

“I want people to know that everyone, no matter their age, is objecting to what is going on right now. I object. My husband was a veteran, and they took all his stuff, and they wiped that out. His dad was in the first World War, and they are erasing that. It’s not right.” 

Durham said her biggest concern is the attack on education and libraries. She said she worked in education for more than 30 years.  

“What they have been doing to education breaks my heart,” she said. “I object to what is happening to libraries; we don’t exist without libraries and having a way for people to know their history.”  

She said this is her second protest at 93 years old, but she said she can’t just sit back while she feels her country is suffering. 

“I want my country back,” Durham said. “This isn’t it.”  

Dan Inman, from Ephrata, said he is concerned about the fate of the nation.  

“I mean, obviously, I have been around the block. I have been through the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Inman said. “I have been through Vietnam. I have been through Watergate. I have been through 9/11. You think of any of the threats to our country in the last 70 years and I have been through them all. This just tops every single one of them. This is a turning point and not for the better.”  

Inman said he hopes the protests will force Congress to take notice.  

“I want Dan Newhouse, our congressman in the Fourth District, to show a little bit like he did before. He voted to impeach Trump and now he has backed down. He is toeing the line, and I would like to know why. People are angry. People are upset. He should find the courage that he had before to stand up to Trump and DOGE and that whole clown car administration.”  

Inman said these protests are not a Democrats vs. Republicans issue, which was reiterated by several other protestors.  

“Everybody cares about their nation,” Inman said. “It’s people on both sides, so to speak, if you want to simplify it red or blue; they care about where we live. We have survived for over 200 years. It has always been a messy process. We should be looking at the Constitution and our Bill of Rights and how those are under attack. If people on both sides could just see that and step up.” 

Teresa Crow said that, overall, people seemed to respond to the protest positively.  

“We got a lot of honks, people waving and giving us a thumbs up. I only saw two or three birds. You’re going to see that, but I was expecting a lot more,” she said. 

There was one report of a confrontation with a Trump supporter; however, the Columbia Basin Herald was unable to verify the situation with the Moses Lake Police Department prior to press time.

Crow said the protestors were made up of a variety of people of different political backgrounds. 

“It’s nice knowing that there are even Republicans standing with us today. I talked with a couple of people who told me they are here because they regret voting for Donald Trump,” Crow said. “They are behind us, too. I think this is great, and it makes people feel more comfortable to stand up and let their voice be heard.”  

    Protestors lined both sides of North Stratford Road Saturday for a handful of hours to show their objection to President Donald Trump, his administration and the federal cuts that have been made.
  

    Hands Off protests have been occurring nationwide since April 5. Grant County’s first was in Ephrata with Moses Lake a couple of weeks behind. The Grant County Democrats helped organize both.
  

    Overall, the response to the protest was positive with a lot of honking, yelling in support and thumbs up. However, some passersby chose to make crude gestures at protestors and the occupant of one car threw empty pop cans as they passed.