Hundreds of people marched Saturday on Main Street Cortez, from the Welcome Center to the Cultural Center, as part of the Hands Off! demonstrations organized for more than 1,200 locations in 50 states.
More than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and elections activists, organized the protests, according to The Associated Press.
Organizers described it as a “peaceful mass activation in defiance of the Trump-Musk billionaire takeover and the Republican assault on our freedoms and our communities,” according to the Washingtonian.
“It’s not just Colorado or Southwest Colorado – this protest is nationwide, and it’s generated because there’s such concern about what’s being done by the administration,” said Karen Sheek, president of the League of Women Voters of Montezuma County.
The Associated Press reported the nationwide Hands Off! mobilization was “the biggest day of demonstrations yet” since Trump began his second term.
In Durango, Hundreds of protesters waved signs as they chanted and marched down Main Avenue from Buckley Park to the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad station and back again.
Across the nation, demonstrators voiced anger over the administration's moves to fire thousands of federal workers, close Social Security Administration field offices, effectively shutter entire agencies, deport immigrants, scale back protections for transgender people and cut funding for health programs, according to The Associated Press.
Asked about the protests, the White House said in a statement that “President Donald Trump’s position is clear: He will always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries, according to The Associated Press. Meanwhile, the Democrats’ stance is giving Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits to illegal immigrants, which will bankrupt these programs and crush American seniors.”
Activists have staged nationwide demonstrations against Trump and Musk multiple times since Trump returned to office. But before Saturday the opposition movement had yet to produce a mass mobilization like the Women's March in 2017, which brought thousands of women to Washington after Trump's first inauguration, or the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that erupted in multiple cities after George Floyd's killing by police in Minneapolis in 2020.
Last month, rallies at Mesa Verde National Park, the Dolores Public Lands Office and Canyons of the Ancients National Monument Visitor Center & Museum were organized in support of public lands. Signs were provided by Four Corners Broadband and Great Old Broads for Wilderness,” a news release said.
And in February, An estimated 250 community members gathered at the Dolores Public Library, eager to express their concerns to U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd’s regional director, Naomi Dobbs. She didn’t attend.
