Crowds of thousands of Montanans gathered in protest against actions by President Donald Trump and billionaire advisor Elon Musk on Saturday.
The so-called "Hands Off!" demonstrations in Montana were among those across the nation that voiced anger over the Trump Administration’s actions to fire thousands of federal workers, shrink or eliminate government agencies, cut programs for health care, education, arts, public land management and more.
Rose Davis of Missoula says’ she’s worried about her son and potential cuts to Medicaid. Her son is an organ transplant recipient.
“If Ethan doesn’t have medication, he is going to die, that is a fact," Davis says. "So, as a parent I am absolutely terrified about my son’s future.”
In Billings, Gene Gabriel says he’s supporting his fellow veterans after the Trump Administration announced it would cut tens of thousands of jobs at the VA.
“There’s a lot of things in combat you see that you need help with, and you take 80,000 people away and you’re not going to get that help. And by God I’m going to fight until I don’t have a breath in me for them.”
A crowd filled the Capitol steps in Helena. Shiloh Corcoran works as a special education para in the local school district and says she’s concerned about Native rights and public education funding.
"I know that when funds are cut, the firs things that goes is the kids with disabilities and those programs. And that’s really scary for those kids. And I don’t know what a lot of our families of kids with disabilities and kids would do without public schools.”
More than 1,200 “Hands Off” rallies were reported across the country on Saturday.
