How to resolve AdBlock issue? LAKEPORT, Calif. — Residents from across Lake County took to the streets on Saturday as part of a peaceful and colorful protest against presidential actions that citizens across the country consider a direct attack on democracy, freedoms and the government’s ability to provide key services.
Several hundred people packed into downtown Lakeport on Saturday afternoon as part of a nationwide chain of “Hands Off” protests against the Trump Administration’s actions to go after civil liberties, the courts and due process, rights of minority groups and immigrants, all the while threatening key programs like Social Security and Medicaid and other government agencies such as the National Park Service by slashing staff.
That’s not to mention the implementation of tariffs over the past week that are expected to drive costs higher for Americans and have caused a dramatic drop in the stock market.
President Donald Trump’s opponents say his actions claiming to go after government waste actually are a prelude to handing over trillions in tax cuts to billionaires such as Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and an advisor to Trump who is a key instigator of the cuts.
Saturday’s event, centered in Museum Square, was the third protest in downtown Lakeport since the start of the year, and it was estimated to be more than twice as large as the previous one.
Organizers of the Saturday protest estimated that 650 people were in attendance, making it the largest event of its kind in memory.
People lined both sides of Main Street between Second and Third streets, with most on the Museum Square side of the street, where people were standing several deep along the sidewalk.
The Hands Off protests — between 1,300 and 1,400 in cities and towns nationwide — come as more impacts of Trump’s second administration agenda have been felt.
Those include shuttering international aid programs as earthquakes and other disasters ravage countries, cutting key national health surveillance programs and firing national security staff, as well as cuts to Veterans Affairs and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provides millions of dollars in support for institutions nationwide.
On the local level, the administration's actions to slash funds for grants to the arts, roads, schools and food banks already are being felt.
Those in attendance represented the broad range of concerns that have come to the fore over the past two months, from veterans to seniors, to people concerned about basic rights, the erosion of freedoms, and young people concerned about their future.
The hundreds of signs created by protest attendees spoke to their concerns.
“I’m a veteran, not a sucker or a loser.”
“Dissent is not a crime.”
“Hands Off! Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.”
“I don’t know how to convince you to care for other people.”
“This is a moral moment.”
“Make America kind again.”
“No deportation without due process.”
“Hands off! Canada, Greenland, Panama.”
“Hate will not make us great.”
“F’elon and the felon.”
“My grandpa killed Nazis.”
“Democracy not autocracy.”
“Courage is contagious.”
“Out with Musk.”
“Cuts hurt everyone except billionaires.”
“Save democracy.”
“Support Ukraine.”
Concerns across the generations
One of the youngest protestors was Edson Gandy, holding a sign that said, “Time for revolution.” He said he’s concerned about what is happening in the world right now.
Edson, 13, is a fan of the musical “Hamilton,” about another young fellow who also favored revolution. He thought Saturday’s event was his first protest. Dad James Gandy, however, had to remind him that he’d actually been to one when he was even younger.
His mom, Adriana, is a native of Brazil who has lived in the United States for nearly 30 years.
While Brazil has been having its own political turmoil, Adriana Gandy said that in Brazil, politicians will go to prison for things that politicians in the United States have gotten away with, referring to Trump spurring the Jan. 6 insurrection.
“He needs to go,” she said.
Another attendee was Makiah Alfred, a member of Gen Z, accompanied by her puppy, Walle, who was not so sure he liked the honking vehicle horns and chanting.
Alfred was a featured speaker at the event, noting her concerns for the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and people of color, as well as what she considers to be the administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Constitution, along with deportations and the situation in Palestine.
She said many of her friends don’t know what’s going on. “I try to slowly educate them without overwhelming them.”
Bringing a different perspective from an older generation was Hans Dobusch, who along with wife Carol, was on hand on Saturday, having also taken part in the previous two Lakeport protests.
Holding a sign that said, “Save democracy, dump Trump,” Dobusch, who lives in Kelseyville, said he loved the creativity and the signs at Saturday’s protest.
Asked why he was protesting, he said, “I’m a veteran, No. 1.”
Dobusch, who immigrated from Germany to the United States by himself as a young man in 1955, served four years in the United States Navy.
He said he’s voted in every single election since becoming a citizen of the United States, which he called “the land of opportunity."
It still is that for some people, he said, adding he’s concerned it is about to change “big time.”
Dobusch’s concerns are based on what he and his family endured living near Berlin, Germany, during World War II.
“We were under a dictator and I don’t want to do that again,” said Dobusch, referring to Adolf Hitler.
Dobusch’s father was a Lutheran pastor who was part of the resistance movement against Hitler.
His father was disappeared by the Nazis and presumed killed. The family never found out what happened to him.
As the protest was taking place, the drivers of the many vehicles passing through the area honked in support or flashed a thumbs up. Some sped dramatically through the area.
Against this noisy backdrop, John Moorhead, a retired shop teacher and KPFZ radio host who at one time trained as a Buddhist monk, sat on the sidewalk in his robes, meditating.
The protest lasted two hours. People at the protest indicated there are more such events to come.
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