Lisa McCormick, the progressive activist who challenged corrupt Senator Bob Menendez, announced that on Saturday, April 5, the streets of America will tremble not with violence, but with the righteous fury of a people pushed to the brink.
From the National Mall in Washington to the small towns of New Jersey, more than a thousand protests will erupt under the banner of Hands Off!—a defiant cry against the brazen theft of democracy by Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the oligarchs who treat this nation as their personal spoils.
Organizers expect 250,000 citizens nationwide to flood public squares, parks, and city centers in what may become the largest single day of resistance since Trump’s second inauguration.
At the heart of the movement is a simple, unshakable truth: This country does not belong to billionaires. Yet Trump and Musk act as if it does—seizing power, dismantling institutions, and daring the people to stop them.
In Washington, D.C., 12,500 demonstrators will gather at the Sylvan Theater, where Congressman Jamie Raskin, Congressman Maxwell Frost, labor leaders, and civil rights advocates will sound the alarm against corporate tyranny.
But the true power of this movement lies not in its headliners, but in its breadth—from Jersey City to Teaneck, from Trenton to Cape May, New Jersey alone will see dozens of rallies, each a localized uprising against the same existential threat.
“From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the downtown plazas of towns here in New Jersey, citizens are preparing to deliver a thunderous rebuke the billionaire class’s brazen theft of our democracy,” said Lisa McCormick. “They’re stealing everything—our healthcare, our jobs, our elections—and daring us to stop them. Well, on April 5th, we answer.”
This Saturday, April 5th, will witness an unprecedented wave of popular resistance as more than a thousand coordinated demonstrations erupt across America under the rallying cry of “Hands Off!”
From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the downtown plazas of small-town New Jersey, citizens are preparing to deliver a thunderous rebuke to what organizers describe as “the billionaire class’s brazen theft of our democracy.”
The movement, spearheaded by a coalition of progressive groups including MoveOn, anticipates over 250,000 participants nationwide in what may become the largest single day of mass protest since Donald Trump assumed his second term.
At the flagship demonstration on Washington’s National Mall, an expected 12,500 protestors will gather at the Sylvan Theater to hear from prominent voices of resistance including Congressman Jamie Raskin, Congressman Maxwell Frost, and labor leader Everett Kelley. But the true significance of this uprising lies in its decentralized fury – in the dozens of simultaneous rallies planned across New Jersey alone, from the union stronghold of Trenton to the shore communities of Cape May, each event amplifying the core message: Americans refuse to surrender their country to oligarchs.
Lisa McCormick, the New Jersey progressive activist who challenged corrupt Senator Bob Menendez in 2018, framed the stakes with characteristic bluntness: “Trump and Musk think they can steal everything – our healthcare, our data, our elections – and dare us to stop them. On Saturday, America takes that dare.” Her words capture the simmering rage that has transformed what began as policy disagreements into an existential struggle for the soul of democratic governance.
The protests come at a moment of unprecedented corporate audacity. Tesla showrooms have recently faced waves of demonstrations as Musk’s anti-worker policies and far-right alliances alienate former supporters. Trump’s administration has accelerated its assault on civil liberties and regulatory safeguards, treating public institutions as spoils for cronies. The Hands Off! movement positions itself as the first unified national response to this two-pronged assault on democracy by moneyed elites.
Across New Jersey, the grassroots response has been explosive. In Princeton, citizens will gather at Hinds Plaza near the historic public library. In Atlantic City, organizers with Indivisible Atlantic City plan a defiant rally against the casino capitalism that has long exploited their community. From the labor halls of Bergen County to the suburban streets of Monroe Township, the same message will echo: the era of passive acceptance is over.
What makes this mobilization unique is its deliberate grounding in nonviolent discipline. “We will meet their greed with our numbers, their corruption with our moral clarity,” reads the official Hands Off! manifesto. Organizers have emphasized de-escalation training for marshals and strict codes of conduct, recognizing that the movement’s power lies in its contrast to the chaos sown by those in power.
The timing carries profound symbolism. With Trump’s Justice Department aggressively targeting dissent and Musk’s platforms amplifying authoritarian voices, Saturday’s protests represent more than disagreement – they constitute an active reclamation of public space and civic voice. When the crowds swell in D.C. and New Jersey towns, they won’t just be protesting specific policies, but asserting a fundamental truth: that government of the billionaires, by the billionaires, for the billionaires shall perish from this earth.
As the sun sets on April 5th, the nation will have received its clearest signal yet that the American people retain both the will and the capacity to defend their democracy. The Hands Off! movement, in its scale and coordination, serves notice to those who would privatize our republic: the resistance is organized, it is growing, and it will not be silenced. From the halls of Congress to the county seats of New Jersey, the message will ring out with one voice – hands off our rights, our institutions, and our future. The sleeping giant of American democracy has awakened.
New Jersey “Hands Off!” events for Saturday, April 5:
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Hands Off! Jersey City Fights Back
525 Washington Blvd
Jersey City, NJ 07310
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Hands Off! Bergen County Fights Back
Hosted by Indivisible NJ 5th District
Municipal Green, 818 Teaneck Rd
Teaneck, NJ 07666
Hands Off! South Orange-Maplewood Fights Back
Maplewood, NJ
11:30 AM
Hands Off! Morristown Area Fights Back
Morristown, NJ
12:00 PM
Hands Off! Cumberland County & South Jersey Fights Back
Bridgeton, NJ
Hands Off! Montclair Area Fights Back
Upper Montclair, NJ
Hands Off! Glen Ridge Fights Back
Glen Ridge, NJ
Hands Off! Ocean City Fights Back
Ocean City, NJ
Hands Off! Cape May Court House Fights Back
Cape May Court House, NJ
Hands Off! Toms River Fights Back
Toms River, NJ
Hands Off! Bloomfield NJ Fights Back
Bloomfield, NJ
Hands Off! Hopewell Fights Back
Pennington, NJ
Hands Off! Lawrence Township Fights Back
Lawrence Township, NJ
Hands Off! Trenton Fights Back
Trenton, NJ
Hands Off! Galloway – Atlantic County Fights Back
Galloway, NJ
Hands Off! Franklin Township Fights Back
Franklin Township, NJ
Hands Off! West Caldwell Fights Back
West Caldwell, NJ
Hands Off! Monroe Township Fights Back
Monroe Township, NJ
Hands Off! Princeton Fights Back
Hinds Plaza, Sylvia Beach Way
Princeton, NJ 08542
1:00 PM
Hands Off! Red Bank Fights Back
Location details pending
Red Bank, NJ
Hands Off! Weehawken Fights Back
Weehawken Township, NJ
Hands Off! Piscataway Fights Back
Piscataway, NJ
Hands Off! OneNJ7 Fights Back
Bridgewater, NJ
1:30 PM
Hands Off! South Jersey Fights Back
Pitman, NJ
2:00 PM
Hands Off! Atlantic City Fights Back
Hosted by Indivisible Atlantic City: Empathy United
Atlantic City, NJ
Note: All times are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Check the Hands Off! website for additional locations.
“They’re stealing everything—our healthcare, our jobs, our elections—and daring us to stop them. Well, on April 5th, we answer.”