At least one thousand angry Durango residents beared the rain and snow at Buckley Park on Saturday in resistance against President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and an administration they say threatens American democracy.
Indivisible Durango’s Hands Off! Rally, held synchronously with over 1,200 Indivisible rallies in all 50 U.S. states, was the largest demonstration in Durango since the March for Our Lives rally in 2018, which drew an estimated 1,300 people to the streets in a rallying cry against gun violence.
The Associated Press reported the nationwide Hands Off! mobilization was “the biggest day of demonstrations yet” since Trump began his second term.
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.
The protests in Durango and around the country are unfolding against the backdrop of dizzying international tariffs issued by Trump in buckshot fashion, which prompted JPMorgan to forecast a 60% chance of a recession in the later half of 2025, according to AP.
What appeared to be fireworks were set off in front of Buckley Park on at least two occasions during the march down Main Avenue.
Indivisible Durango Social Media Manager Maya Fontenot, 16, a regular speaker at Indivisible Durango rallies, stood atop a stone Buckley Park monument as protesters filed back into the park, chanting, “Show me what democracy looks like” with a raspy voice.
In a speech preceding the march, Fontenot said the demonstration’s message, “hands off,” is for those who believe they can undermine democracy.
“This fight is not just against individuals like Donald Trump and Elon Musk. It is against a system that allows wealth and power to overshadow the needs of many,” she said. “It is against policies that prioritize corporate greed over human well being. And most importantly, it is a fight for the rights, dignity and futures of those who have been overlooked, marginalized or disenfranchised.”
Durango area attorney Lynne Sholler said Musk’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” is an unconstitutional, faux agency, and as of Friday, 170 lawsuits have been filed over Trump’s unlawful executive orders. The lawsuits may take time to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, but they could preserve the status quo until a permanent ruling is issued.
“We’re pissed off,” resident Denny Finn said.
He said it was time to do something about the Trump administration and that’s why he and his colleagues went to the protest.
Another resident, carrying a sign advocating for diversity, said she is fed up with societal progress being dragged backward.
Opposing bigotry, greed and corruption, and systemic violence was the major theme of the rally. Speakers encouraged solidarity and community in the face of authoritarianism.
“We are not at the beginning of fascism. We are in the middle,” Vivian Smotherman said to the crowd. “The books have already been banned, the teachers have already been fired. The laws are already rewritten. The fear is already normalized. This is not leadership. This is punishment.”
She encouraged residents to create mutual aid networks, coordinate shelter and supplies and take care of one another.
cburney@durangoherald.com
