St. Johnsbury "Hands Off!" Protest Draws Crowd at Green MountainMall

Hands Off The Constitution! Hands Off Immigrants! Hands Off Civil Rights! Hands Off Social Security! Group Chants

Published by the Caledonian-Record

Amy Ash Nixon nixona@caledonian-record.com Staff Writer

Apr 6, 2025 Updated Apr 6, 2025

ST. JOHNSBURY—More than 100 people gathered Saturday at noon in the parking lot of the Green Mountain Mall to protest the Trump administration’s policies, massive layoffs, and impacts and express fears about how these steps will affect people’s civil liberties and lives.

The rally was organized by Indivisible St. Johnsbury as part of the Hands Off! protests being held across the nation this weekend. This included a gathering at the Vermont State House in Montpelier, which was also attended by several people from the Indivisible St. Johnsbury group. Other local groups fighting what’s happening at the federal level also participated in the rally in St. Johnsbury this weekend.

Ricia Mainhardt of Passumpsic stood at the center of the protest, addressing the group and inviting others to join her and speak their minds. When she first arrived, dropped off with a stool to sit on when she needed a break, she offered extra signs she’d made to anyone who wanted one. Mainhardt of Passumpsic led much of Saturday's rally, calling on the group to be brave and fight, as Civil Rights leaders did during that movement, and other freedom fighters have had to rise up to do during dark times in our country's history in order to make things fair for everyone.

She shared a poem written for the current situation under the Trump administration that spoke to how one agency after another is being stripped and attacked, from Social Security to the United States Department of Education and more and that standing by and doing nothing is akin to the quote written during Nazi-occupied Germany by Martin Niemöller, a Lutheran pastor in Germany who had initially sympathized with Adolph Hitler and the Nazis.

But after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, “Niemöller became an outspoken critic of Hitler’s interference in the Protestant Church. He spent the last eight years of Nazi rule, from 1937 to 1945, in Nazi prisons and concentration camps,” according to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

The language in the quote was changed to substitute the groups and people, as well as agencies that provide social service protections and education for millions of vulnerable Americans instead, from immigrants and transgender people to the United States Department of Education, to Social Security and Medicare and read by Mainhardt on Saturday.

Mainhardt praised the courage of great Americans, including the late Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., during the Civil Rights Movement.

Being out protesting and speaking up takes courage, she told the group gathered within sight of a row of red and white Tesla pumps, one at the charging station amid a crowd holding signs decrying Tesla founder billionaire Elon Musk’s role in the government. She thanked everyone for turning out in the near-freezing temperatures.

Mainhardt reminded the group of the sacrifices made by people throughout history to fight back, often at great risk to themselves, and in the case of Dr. King, who lost his life for what he believed in. “We have a lot of great role models,” she told the group.

Retiree and St. Johnsbury resident Sharon Moore was among the many seniors in the group.

Fighting tears, she turned to a protester beside her and said, “I have never demonstrated in my life.”

“You must be really ticked off,” the woman said to her.

“I am. I’m so mad. What can any of us do?” Moore asked.

The Hands Off! event chants began, with Mainhardt leading the chanting, but others chiming in and adding to what they wanted the Trump administration to keep their hands off of:

Hands Off Social Security!

Hands Off Medicare!

Hands Off Medicaid!

Hands Off Civil Rights!

Hands Off Human Rights!

Hands Off Education!

Hands Off Immigrants!

Hands Off Our Bodies!

Hands Off Reproductive Rights!

Hands Off Our Country!

Hands Off Our Judicial System!

Hands Off Our Constitution!

Hands Off Our Neighbors!

Kate Williams of Bradford, a nurse who would only say she works in the Connecticut River Valley, said she is very concerned about Social Security and Medicare and that emergency rooms are going to become flooded. “I really care about our country and the direction it’s going in right now. We have to take care of each other and the current administration is not doing that.”

Asa Sukkaew, 16, of Concord, a sophomore at St. Johnsbury Academy, also addressed the crowd and said there are parallels to what happened during the 1940s. “The same thing that happened in the 1940s is slowly starting to happen again,” he said.

President Donald Trump is “following Hitler’s playbook almost to the letter,” Mainhardt said.

“I am proud of you all for being here,” Mainhardt said. “So many people told me they were going to Montpelier, I wanted to be here.”

Lauren Chamberlin, a recent college graduate from Burke, attended the rally with her parents, Janis and Keith, and held a sign that read “Good Over Greed.” She stepped forward and said she doesn’t feel like anyone in the Trump administration is representing her or shares her values. “Being here inspires me, it makes me feel good,” said Lauren. “I’m so scared. I’m really, really scared. I don’t know what’s going to happen with my life.” Lauren said, “I’m so inspired and empowered. I’m really grateful to have this community … and to live in a community where I’m lifted up.”

Morgan Hutchinson of Walden told the crowd, “I don’t want to leave my home behind.” He said he can’t imagine what his great grandparents who immigrated to the United States during the 1930s would say if they could see what’s happening here now. “I want to make them proud even if they’re no longer around, to see what I’m doing … to see what we’re all doing.”

Sikander Rashid, who immigrated to the United States during the 1960s and has been in Vermont for decades, said, “The United States is the umbrella, that heaven where we have rights. We don’t want a king. We want the United States this country was when I came here as a boy, it was great, it still is, but this is bullsh** what’s going on right now!”

To have billionaires running the federal government and putting their friends in places of power making changes that will affect the entire country is wrong, Rashid called out, saying the wealthiest people in the country are benefiting from what’s going on “and everybody else works for them … that’s wrong morally, legally and common sensically and that’s why we’re here: to stop it!”

Scott Metivier of St. Johnsbury, attending the event with his wife, Jean, said, “We are are here because this is a really personal fight.” When their son was diagnosed with autism at three years old, and did not speak until the age of seven, they were advised to place him in an institution. They did not. Today he lives on his own, with supports from Social Security and Medicaid, and takes care of himself. “This fight is for him,” Scott said.

David Horton of St. Johnsbury, who turned 70 last month, is concerned about whether his first Social Security check will come and what will happen to the program in the future, given the current climate.

Of Donald Trump, Horton said, “He’s a worthless human being in my opinion,” a remark that drew cheers. “He’s the definition of evil.”

As the rally wrapped up, the group sang a few patriotic songs to one of their members playing guitar, including to This Land is My Land, and chanted, “We will prevail, Trump will fail!”

Someone added another rhyme, “And go to jail!”