In Cape Coral, a man named Greg stood outside U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds’ office, wanting to remind him that “he works for the people of Lee County and not to be a rubber stamp for whoever the president is. … Oh, it’s still Musk.”
“I want empathy back,” said Kate Cohen, as she stood with others waving signs at U.S. 41 and Daniels Parkway in Fort Myers.
According to the Associated Press, rallies such as the Cape Coral and Fort Myers gatherings were held across much of the United States and even in some locations abroad. All were part of “Hands Off” demonstrations which joined as many as 1,200 to 1,500 coordinated protests on Saturday.
They were planned by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and elections activists. The protest sites included the National Mall in Washington, D.C., state capitols, and locations in all 50 states.
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From Sarasota down through Port Charlotte, Venice, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, and Naples, close to 7,000 people turned out, lining both byways and main thoroughfares Saturday from mid-morning through late afternoon. There were myriad other demonstrations all across Florida as well.
In Naples, Brant Bickel wore a penguin outfit, despite temperatures hovering around 90 degrees, to call attention to President Trump’s recent tariffs on the Heard Island and McDonald Islands group with only wildlife as residents . He was protesting “everything about Trump."
At the Collier County protest, a man with a bullhorn marched up and down the sidewalk outside the courthouse pointing randomly at protesters shouting, “This is what a patriot looks like.” Others waved signs with messages such as "Make Lying Wrong Again," "Dump Trump," "Hate Never Made Any Nation Great." Plenty urged the administration to keep "Hands Off" Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, "Personal Data," LGBTQ rights, immigrants' rights, and other issues.
Crowds in Naples rivaled those in Fort Myers, with an estimated 1500 to 2,000 people lining the streets. Supporters drove by honking horns and waving their own signs from car windows.
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Around 2000 protesters lined Bayfront Drive in Sarasota on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the Hands Off protest. They are protesting policies instituted by President Donald Trump. Some protesters also walked across the Ringling Bridge.
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Activists protest President Donald Trump, who was a few miles away at his Trump National Golf Club, during a "Hands Off!" demonstration Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
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People lined sidewalks along U.S. 41 Saturday in a demonstration of protest against the Trump Administration's actions on immigration, federal workers, Medicaid and other topics.
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Diane Scire of Estero exhorts those attending the Fort Myers event of Southwest Florida protests against President Trump policies and Elon Musk
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Cape Coral protest against President Trump policies and Elon Musk
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Cape Coral protest against President Trump policies and Elon Musk
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Cape Coral protest against President Trump policies and Elon Musk
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Southwest Florida protests against President Trump policies and Elon Musk
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Southwest Florida protest in Fort Myers against President Trump policies and Elon Musk.
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People lined sidewalks along U.S. 41 Saturday in a demonstration of protest against the Trump Administration's actions on immigration, federal workers, Medicaid and other topics.
Amanda Inscore Whittamore / WGCU
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Margie Vincent prepares signs for Saturday's protest inn Fort Myers.
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Demonstrators hold up signs during a "Hands Off!" protest against President Donald Trump at the Washington Monument in Washington, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Jose Luis Magana/AP / FR159526 AP
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Between 1,200 and 2,000 people participated in a protest at the Collier County Courthouse in Naples on Saturday as part of a nationwide Hands Off protest.
Amanda Inscore Whattamore / WGCU
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Dana of Sarasota stands along Bayfront Drive in Sarasota with a sign that says “RESIST 86 47 Not My President”. Around 2000 protesters lined Bayfront Drive in Sarasota on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the Hands Off protest. They are protesting policies instituted b y President Donald Trump. Some protesters also walked across the Ringling Bridge.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Around 2000 protesters lined Bayfront Drive in Sarasota on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the Hands Off protest. They are protesting policies instituted by President Donald Trump. Some protesters also walked across the Ringling Bridge.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Around 2000 protesters lined Bayfront Drive in Sarasota on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the Hands Off protest. They are protesting policies instituted by President Donald Trump. Some protesters also walked across the Ringling Bridge.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Around 2000 protesters lined Bayfront Drive in Sarasota on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the Hands Off protest. They are protesting policies instituted by President Donald Trump. Some protesters also walked across the Ringling Bridge.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Around 2000 protesters lined Bayfront Drive in Sarasota on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the Hands Off protest. They are protesting policies instituted by President Donald Trump. Some protesters also walked across the Ringling Bridge.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Around 2000 protesters lined Bayfront Drive in Sarasota on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the Hands Off protest. They are protesting policies instituted by President Donald Trump. Some protesters also walked across the Ringling Bridge.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Around 2000 protesters lined Bayfront Drive in Sarasota on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the Hands Off protest. They are protesting policies instituted by President Donald Trump. Some protesters also walked across the Ringling Bridge.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Around 2000 protesters lined Bayfront Drive in Sarasota on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the Hands Off protest. They are protesting policies instituted by President Donald Trump. Some protesters also walked across the Ringling Bridge.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Around 2000 protesters lined Bayfront Drive in Sarasota on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the Hands Off protest. They are protesting policies instituted by President Donald Trump. Some protesters also walked across the Ringling Bridge.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Thomas Muther of Kansas had a friend draw his idea for the poster he carried at the protest. He is in town for the Sarasota film festival and wanted to participate. Around 2000 protesters lined Bayfront Drive in Sarasota on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the Hands Off protest. They are protesting policies instituted by President Donald Trump. Some protesters also walked across the Ringling Bridge.
Andrea Melendez/WGCU
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Protesters packed the sidewalks along U.S, 41 in Fort Myers on Saturday, April 5, 2025, as a part of the Hands Off rallies taking place throughout Southwest Florida and the country.
Amanda Inscore Whittamore / WGCU
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Protesters packed the sidewalks along U.S, 41 in Fort Myers on Saturday, April 5, 2025, as a part of the Hands Off rallies taking place throughout Southwest Florida and the country.
Amanda Inscore Whittamore / WGCU
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Protesters packed the sidewalks along U.S, 41 in Fort Myers on Saturday, April 5, 2025, as a part of the Hands Off rallies taking place throughout Southwest Florida and the country.
Amanda Inscore Whittamore / WGCU
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Protesters packed the sidewalks along U.S, 41 in Fort Myers on Saturday, April 5, 2025, as a part of the Hands Off rallies taking place throughout Southwest Florida and the country.
Amanda Inscore Whittamore / WGCU
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Protesters packed the sidewalks at Airport-Pulling Road and U.S. 41 in Naples on Saturday, April 5, 2025, as a part of the Hands Off rallies taking place throughout Southwest Florida and the country.
Amanda Inscore Whittamore / WGCU
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Protesters packed the sidewalks at Airport-Pulling Road and U.S. 41 in Naples on Saturday, April 5, 2025, as a part of the Hands Off rallies taking place throughout Southwest Florida and the country.
Amanda Inscore Whittamore / WGCU
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Protesters packed the sidewalks at Airport-Pulling Road and U.S. 41 in Naples on Saturday, April 5, 2025, as a part of the Hands Off rallies taking place throughout Southwest Florida and the country.
Amanda Inscore Whittamore / WGCU
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Protesters packed the sidewalks at Airport-Pulling Road and U.S. 41 in Naples on Saturday, April 5, 2025, as a part of the Hands Off rallies taking place throughout Southwest Florida and the country.
Amanda Inscore Whittamore / WGCU
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Demonstrators outside the Collier County government offices in Naples were part of the nationwide "Hands Off" protests across the country on Saturday, April 5.
In Fort Myers, Patty Schreiber added to the din of horns and chants along U.S. 41 with a cowbell. She was out in the heat "to maintain democracy, so everybody can say what they want and be what they want."
On 41 across from the Bank of America and Bell Tower Shops, friends from the National Organization for Women and the Women's March gathered with water, cookies, T-shirts and plenty of signs. Nancy Terreri was among them. "I said if we ever got 1,000 people out then people would pay attention."
Deb Johnson of Fort Myers found inspiration in the day. "It's giving me hope. I didn't realize how many people were supportive of us out here, especially hearing the traffic, the honking. His [Trump's] first term I was about to make it through, but this time it's just too much too fast."
Air Force veteran Clifton Childress of Fort Myers was with his wife, Edith. "We're exercising our right to free speech. We always need to have that right," he said.
Some were at their first protest; others had been down this road before. Edie Verbesky of Naples said, "At 81, I thought I'd be done with this by now. Lately I've been rather quiet until all this happened. Somehow I have to believe that from all this horror something good will come."
A Canadian woman who now lives in Naples declined to give her name but was moved to tears by the camaraderie.
Law enforcement was visible, with regular drive-bys from Lee County Sheriff's Office units. The Sheriff's Office chopper hovered overhead for a good portion of the event.
No counter-demonstrations were seen. Any shouts or gestures in response were drowned out by the crowds.
The estimated 400 people who turned out in Cape Coral included Mark Simon, who said he has seen a shift in voting trends lately. He lived in Wisconsin for years before moving to the Cape. "I called all my relatives in Wisconsin and a lot of them are turning Democratic, at least in their vote." He goes to all the protests, he said, wearing a "cheesehead" and handing out signs. "We have to turn this state more Democratic, that's for sure."
David Pederson of Fort Myers had the future in mind, as well. "I think of my grandchildren. What we're leaving behind for them is not very good right now."
Similarly sized crowds turned out in Sarasota and Port Charlotte, with a smaller but no less vocal gathering in Venice.
Social media was abuzz with reports from across the U.S. There were promises of further such events, including one tentatively being planned for April 19.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you. WGCU staffers Amanda Inscore Whittamore, Andrea Melendez and Michael Braun contributed to this report.
