Nearly a thousand Baltimoreans attended a “Hands Off” protest outside City Hall on Saturday, joining millions nationwide protesting recent actions by the Trump administration and Elon Musk.
Tariffs, mass deportations of immigrants, and the gutting of the federal workforce were all top issues for the Baltimoreans who took to the streets.
One name gracing many signs was that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was deported to an El Salvador mega prison last month — a federal judge ruled that action illegal and on Friday ordered the U.S. government to return him home (the Department of Justice is appealing that ruling). Abrego Garcia’s deportation came after another federal judge ordered his flight and others to be turned around.
Everything about that situation, from the dehumanization of “others” to the defiance of the courts, reminds Eugenie Mukeshimana of similar violations in her native Rwanda just before the 1994 genocide.
“I know that people you know, don't think it can happen, but what makes it happen is that the good people are silent,” she said.
Abrego Garcia did not have a trial before being sent to El Salvador and the federal government admitted that they made an “administrative error” in sending him there. All of the men being sent to El Salvador’s CECOT prison are alleged Tren De Aragua members although the U.S. government has not provided details or proof of their criminality.
“The problem is that people forget that when you accept that non-citizens are not entitled to due process, neither are citizens either,” said Liz Rasking, a Maryland-based engineer who describes herself as of Mexican heritage. “All the state has to do is accuse you of doing something, and you won't have the courts to be able to defend you.”
When it comes to the list of grievances against the Trump administration and billionaire advisor Elon Musk, it was hard for Jessica Damon to pick just one. Musk is an unelected advisor to the president who oversees the non-governmental agency called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“The MAGA group should be called the MAPA group: Make America Poor Again. That’s what tariffs are going to do. That’s what destroying research and healthcare is going to do” said Damon, referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again Slogan.”
Baltimore’s demonstration had firm support from the local and broader Democratic Maryland political establishment with Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen, Senator Chris VanHollen, Reps. Kweisi Mfume and Johnny Olszewski, all offering rallying cries of encouragement.
Echoing sentiments on many signs and banners, Mfume said he had a message for Trump: "Leave our Medicaid and Medicare alone, leave our Social Security alone, leave food programs for children alone, leave the Department of Education alone, leave women's bodies alone. Understand over and over again that we will continue to rise up and continue to speak out."
Greg Waterworth doesn’t expect the protests to move the Trump administration.
“It’s about empowering people. A lot of what they're doing is trying to destroy hope,” said the Baltimore County resident. “It's trying to make people feel like there's nothing they can do to stop this, and there's a lot people can do.”
Saturday’s Baltimore rally was organized by the Free State Coalition, who told WYPR they expect more protests to come.
