GRAND FORKS — Hundreds of people attended a protest near and on the Sorlie Memorial bridge against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk on Saturday.
Cathy Williams, of Indivisible Grand Forks, estimated more than 400 people were in attendance, both Democrats and Republicans.
“This is just a wonderful turnout on a beautiful day,” she said.
Williams and Sheila Fontaine, chair of the Minnesotan Polk County and Red Lake County DFL, were two organizers of the protest on their side of the river.
The Grand Forks and East Grand Forks protests were two of more than 1,200 “Hands Off!” protests nationwide organized for April 5, Williams said. The day was organized in protest of the actions of the Trump administration and Musk, and to say “hands off what doesn’t belong to (them),” Williams said.
“(Veterans Affairs), Medicare, Medicaid, social security, LGBTQ, veterans, federal workers, you name it,” she said. “That’s the theme from a lot of the signs – hands off.”
Delaney Otto / Obituary
About six or seven North Dakota organizations put together the Grand Forks protest, while the Polk County and Red Lake County DFL organized the East Grand Forks one. Fontaine said she had people reaching out to her, saying something had to be done. There is fear, she said, that people are losing their democracy.
“People are anxious,” she said. “They’re scared. And we want courage to be contagious, not fear. So we will be here as often as we need to be to keep our voices heard, and we’re not going to back down.”
Some vehicles revved their engines and appeared to make rude gestures as they passed, but others honked in support, drawing cheers from the crowd of demonstrators.
The protesters on both sides of the river met on the Sorlie Memorial Bridge around 4:10 p.m. after spending more than an hour on their respective sides. The groups came together with chants supporting democracy, cheering on cars that honked as they drove by on the bridge.
Otto is the region reporter for the Obituary.