The protest is part of a series of “Hands Off” demonstrations that occurred throughout the country on Saturday.
On Saturday, Pittsburghers took to the streets during a “Hands Off” demonstration protesting the actions of President Trump and Elon Musk.
More than 1,000 such protests were held across the nation on Saturday. Six occurred in Western Pennsylvania, with the others being held in Shadyside, Beaver, Washington, Greensburg, and Butler.
The rally included several guest speakers and a march. Thousands were estimated to have marched from the City-County Building on Grant Street, past the Federal Courthouse to Liberty Avenue and William Penn Place and ending at Mellon Square.
Indivisible Pittsburgh and a coalition of grassroots partners hosted the event.
According to a press release issued by the organizers, the protest was “part of a national mass activation in defiance of the Trump-Musk billionaire takeover and the Republican assault on our freedoms and our communities.”
The group said that Trump, Musk, and congressional Republicans are “gutting services, raising prices, and racing towards slashing Medicaid, Social Security, and more.”
Former U.S. Congressman Conor Lamb, a Democrat, spoke at the event. He said, “Every day this president acts like the Constitution doesn’t exist. Well, I think the main reason that we’re here today is to tell him, ‘The Constitution is bigger than you.’ The Constitution says that ‘we the people’ are the foundation of this government. It belongs to us, it doesn’t belong to Donald Trump.”
Protesters carried signs expressing their discontent with the Trump Administration and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Many were concerned about Medicare, access to abortion, and funding for education.
Nationwide, more than 1,000 Hands Off rallies of varying sizes were held on Saturday. People turned out to protest Elon Musk’s involvement in the federal government, funding cuts, and slashes made to the federal workforce.
In Washington, D.C., thousands took to the National Mall with signs opposing tariffs, supporting Social Security, and denouncing Trump’s and Musk’s changes to the federal government.
