On April 5, thousands of demonstrators gathered from Cary Park to Shaw and First. They protested in defense of what they view as constitutional rights and essential freedoms threatened by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

According to San Joaquin Valley Resistance 50501, This rally, “HANDS OFF! People’s Veto Day,” is part of a nationwide protest organized by 50501, a grassroots movement. Thousands of people across all 50 states have come together to voice their concerns about the current trajectory of the United States and to demand that their local representatives take action.

Demonstrators are urging local leaders to stop the Trump administration from firing federal workers and granting access to government systems — such as social security — to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in ways that could compromise citizens’ personal data. They are also speaking out against threats to the rights of immigrants and LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as the risk of deep cuts to medicare and medicaid.

“This rally is about everything. It’s about everything the [Trump] administration is looking at mantling and destroying. It’s about protecting the most marginalized communities, our communities of color, our LGBTQ+, our autonomy over our bodies,” Socorro Santillan, one of the organizers from the rally, said.

Santillan believes that the Trump administration’s proposed cuts—amounting to trillions of dollars in Medicare—could hurt millions of Americans’ access to healthcare. She fears this could create a healthcare pandemic. Santillian, who is also a director for public affairs at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, states that about 53% of her patients are on Medi-Cal and if the Trump administration is able to accomplish cutting federal funding, many patients will not have the health care they need.

This fear, not just of potential harm from budget cuts, but also of threats to constitutional rights, was felt in every corner of the rally. Many held signs reading “Hands Off Medicare VETS,” “Hands Off Our Democracy,” and “How’s the Stock Market Now?” to express their disdain for the Trump administration’s executive actions, which they believe are impacting the country’s overall climate and direction. Around 12 p.m., the sea of demonstrators began marching from Cary Park, flooding the sidewalks of Shaw and First.

A series of chants began to boom from demonstrators saying, “Who? Our rights,” “This is what democracy looks like,” and “Hey hey, ho ho, the migra has to go!”

Meanwhile, cars passing by the rally honked their horns every few seconds, their sounds echoing throughout the streets. A couple of passing cars even pulled their windows down and boomed the song “FDT” by YG and Nipsey Hussle.

The anxiety over the potential fall of democracy in the United States was felt by Jim (did not share his last to protect his identity as a protester), a demonstrator holding a sign that displayed photos of Musk, Trump, J.D. Vance and Vladimir Putin, all photoshopped into Nazi Germany uniforms. He believes that the country is on the road towards facism and that it’s time for the people to pay attention and take action.

“They are taking our country away, they’re taking our rights away. We will have no country and at this point, silence is complicity, ” Jim said.

But Jim said that seeing the huge turnout of many residents coming out to protest has encouraged to keep on sharing his voice. He hopes that this is the beginning of a much larger movement to let Trump know that the American people refuse this chaos in the government.

Amid the crowd, Kathy (did not share her last to protect his identity as a protester) joined her first protest in her electric wheelchair, driven by fears over what Trump and Musk’s actions could mean for her local farmers, educators, small businesses and her benefits. Kathy, who relies on social security benefits, is afraid that with the recent talks of cuts from DOGE that she will not see her check that is due on the third Wednesday of next month.

Kathy expressed her anger over DOGE’s potential actions to cut her benefits, saying, “Fuck them.”

As the clock struck 1 p.m., signaling the end of the protest, many demonstrators stayed for an additional hour on the sidewalks of Shaw and First, continuing to hold their signs in the air. Passing cars showed their support by honking their horns, while one driver was seen making gagging sounds at the demonstrators.

Demonstrators in Fresno expressed concern over what they view as an attack on their freedoms, for they believe these protests are far from over.