A newly formed local group is joining a national day of protest of President Donald Trump and his administration next week.
Called the “Hands Off our Democracy, Rally and March,” the event is planned Saturday April 5, beginning with a rally at noon at the Columbus City Hall steps.
According to the event flier, at 1 p.m., the group plans to march down Washington Street carrying signs expressing their displeasure with the vast dismantling of federal funding led by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, “an end to the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump administration” and “an end to attacks on immigrants, trans people and other communities,” and that the administration is making “life harder for everyday Americans while eroding our democracy.”
“But the services and jobs they’re slashing aren’t theirs— they’re ours,” the flier reads. “Our communities are paying the price while the Trumps and Musks of the world cash in.”
The event is organized by one of five “action teams” that make up a new local organization, Columbus Community United (CCU). The group has a coalitional leadership structure, with the five teams focusing on different issues: immigration, defending democracy, protecting LGBTQ+ individuals, women’s rights and public schools.
During the rally portion, there will be seven or eight speakers who will speak to a specific issue. Cate Hyatt, who helped organize the rally, said the Rev. Nic Cable, minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, will deliver opening remarks and Nathan Haza will serve as emcee. Some of the speakers include First Presbyterian Church Pastor Felipe Martinez and Stephanie Carmer of the local NAACP branch.
“We’re asking people to bring their flags and to wear red, white and blue. Because we’re proud of being Americans,” Hyatt said. “This is going to be addressing all of our emotions, but it’s going to be a positive call to act.”
Another member of the group, Bob Pitman, said CCU is in part working alongside the recently resurrected Bartholomew County Indivisible group. There will also be tables representing supporting organizations so they can recruit members, organizers said.
“We want to make sure that our speakers and the event are very representative of the diversity in this community because all of us are under attack,” Pitman said.
CCU had its origins during a February meeting of the Social Justice Committee at First Presbyterian Church when a person asked the group if they knew of any community organizations forming to oppose changes proposed and implemented by the Trump administration, particularly regarding ICE and the prospect of immigration raids locally.
An email to eight people to attend an organizing meeting led to 93 showing up and has since grown to 400-plus members. Organizers say further events and initiatives are planned over the next few months, including town halls and resources for immigrant families.
“I think after the election, some people were really concerned and sounding the alarm,” Hyatt said. “And I think the majority of people either haven’t had the time to pay attention because they’re busy having lives and raising kids and jobs and everything. A lot of people have said, ‘Well, those things really aren’t going to happen. You’re worried for nothing.’ And it seems like every week there are more and more freedoms that are coming into question.”
Martinez, who is leading the immigration team with Father Chris Wadelton of St. Bartholomew Catholic Church, will also be unveiling yard signs the group has been working on that express solidarity with the community’s immigrants, created in collaboration with Columbus Area Arts Council. Organizers said more information will be available about this at a later time.
The city, law enforcement and all relevant authorities have been notified of the groups plans for next Saturday, according to organizers.
