An estimated 3-5 million Americans took to the streets on April 5 to show their opposition to the unprecedented and unconstitutional corruption of Donald Trump and Elon Musk. More than 600 people flooded Railroad Green in Warwick Village to loudly–but peacefully–show their outrage.
They showed it with chants and with hundreds of signs bearing clever, inventive slogans. Despite the cold, rainy weather and the dire threat facing our nation, the spirit of the day was upbeat and positive. Two people dressed in penguin costumes, poking fun at the President’s tariffs on uninhabited islands populated only by penguins. Another dressed as a chicken, urging the Village of Warwick to lift its legal ban on back-yard chickens.
Notably, when asked who was attending their first-ever protest, as many as a third of attendees raised their hands–providing evidence of the way Trump and Musk have outraged everyday Americans. People who never felt motivated to protest–or were not motivated in many years–are in the streets demanding change.
The event was not organized by the Democratic Committee or any political party, but by a grassroots group of concerned local citizens who emphasized it was a non-partisan protest against government corruption and abuse. Many Warwick Democrats were on site, however, to show their support and help protesters learn how else they can help. Dannie Sinisi and Don Kilcoyne, Democratic candidates for Warwick Town Board in November, were on hand to meet voters. Attorney Michael Sussman, who is running for Warwick Town Supervisor, gave a speech to the crowd encouraging everyone to stay involved and work to fight against disinformation.
Warwick Democrats Vice Chair Manny Tirado gave a speech on behalf of veterans betrayed by Trump. Barbara Bald, a member of the Warwick Democratic Committee, helped organize and served as emcee.
Several speakers took the stage, representing agencies and citizen groups who have been harmed or targeted by Elon Musk’s DOGE and Donald Trump’s policies:
- A Social Security claims administrator based in Orange County spoke about how cuts to staffing are already leading to longer wait times, more mistakes, and missed payments.
- A retired research scientist spoke about the importance of the NIH in funding medical and technological advances.
- A retired physician spoke about the extensive demands of protecting public health, especially in rural farming communities like those here in Warwick.
- A former judge spoke about threats to the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
- The mother of a special needs child spoke about threats to education programs.
- A representative from the local LBGBTQ+ community talked about threats especially facing transgender kids and adults across the country.
State Senator James Skoufis spoke, his voice noticeably tired because Warwick was the fourth of five rallies at which he spoke that day. Skoufis emphasized the harm done by Donald Trump’s tariffs, which wiped out more than $6 trillion in wealth in two days preceding the rally, and the ongoing threat to Social Security. “That is your money,” Senator Skoufis reminded the crowd. Regarding threats to democracy, he cited a story about Benjamin Franklin, who was asked as he left the final meeting of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, “What have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”
Franklin’s famous reply was, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Those words still serve as a reminder that it is the responsibility of the American citizens to preserve and protect our democracy against threats like Donald Trump. Much work remains to do so, but the crowd massed on Railroad Green showed that Americans are up for the challenge.
The organizers behind Warwick’s immense Hands Off rally hold similar protests every Saturday morning starting at 10:00 AM outside the Warwick Post Office. For more information see our events page.