Residents of the Shreveport-Bossier area took to the streets on Saturday, April 5, as part of the nationwide protest “Hands Off!” to oppose President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
According to group organizers, this protest is part of a nationwide demonstration with 250,000 people participating at over 1,000 similar events in all 50 states.
What happened at the Shreveport ‘Hands Off’ rally?
Participants are calling on Trump and Musk to take their hands off the programs that middle class and working families rely on.
A couple from Colorado stood in the pouring rain Saturday. They asked to remain anonymous but stated they were on vacation but felt so strongly about the matter that they had to attend the Shreveport protest.Shreveport citizen, Billy Woods came out in opposition of the protest, stating “you know there’s more than one side to every story. Basically, I’ve always been told there’s three sides to every story. There’s your side, my side, and then in the middle there’s the truth. And so, America as a whole, we need to hear the whole story, and we need to hear from everybody.”
Calvin Halbert, attending his first protest in downtown Shreveport. He said he was worried about what people thought at first but wanted to stand up for what was right, April 5, 2025.
Shreveport citizen, Calvin Halbert said, “some people just don’t have, they don’t have a voice. So, I figured, why not use my voice and why not come out?”
This is Halbert’s first protest, and he said he was a little worried about what people would think but wanted to be a voice.
A U.S. veteran and local president for the American Federation of Government Employees, Chantel Jones said she was taking part in this protest to tell the president to keep his hands off our rights, data and finances.
She said, “I want to tell him to back up off my rights as a veteran… this is a democracy. We don’t want a dictator. We would like to keep our rights because it’s our rights that formed this country.”
Cassandra Buckhanan and Chantel Jones at the “Hands Off!” protest in downtown Shreveport, April 5, 2025.
Jones was at this protest with her children and Cassandra Buckhanan, president of the National Federation of Federal Employee. Buckhanan said, “hands off our rights, as citizens of America, hands off of our unions.”
Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Here’s what people had to say at the ‘Hands Off’ rally in Shreveport