This weekend, Hands Off protests took place in large and small cities across the nation. Grayson County residents joined in the activity when more than 50 people gathered at the Grayson County Courthouse midday Saturday to peacefully protest the current administration and recent actions by the administration.

“Whether you are outraged by skyrocketing healthcare costs, job costs, job cuts, attacks on our privacy, or the gutting of essential services- this moment is for you,” information provided by Grayson County Democratic Party Precinct 304 Chair Debra Rushing said. “We are joining thousands of marchers participating with indivisible groups across America to protest our rights as American citizens. National and local organizations of nonpartisan indivisible groups are coming together across the country to organize for hands off 2025, a mass activation in defiance of the Trump-Musk Takeover of our freedoms and our communities. We want to show a massive, visual, national rejection of this crisis. This is to show hands off our jobs, our liberties, and our rights. The power is in our hands.”

There were more than 1,400 protests scheduled to take place at federal buildings, courthouses, state capitols, parks and other places Saturday morning. Individuals carried signs with messages related to civil and human rights, veterans rights, women’s rights and LGBTQIA protections.

Former Grayson County Democratic Party Chair and Southeastern Oklahoma State Professor of Social Sciences Glenn Melancon attended the event.

“This rally is important because we need to recognize our heritage as a nation, that we take care of people, that our government should be on the side of the little man and not the big man,” he said. “And when we do that, we are all better off.”

He said it’s important that people in different cities across the nation are standing together for these protests.

“I am my brother’s keeper and when we realize that, we are better off,” he said. “When I know I love my neighbor as myself, we are better off. When we go back to our values, we will be better off.”

He also explained his ideal outcome from the rally as a participant.

“The outcome of this rally should be changing course and starting to take care of the American people again and not worrying about some rich billionaire and what their feelings are,” he said. “We need people to have affordable healthcare. We need well-paying jobs. We need to make sure our schools are fully funded and fully functioning.”

“When we all do better, we all do better,” he said.