At noon on Saturday, there was a crowd gathered on the front steps of the Montana State Capitol, expressing their opposition to what they called chaos coming from the federal government. More than 1,000 people were in attendance for Helenas Hands Off! protest one of around 1,400 planned nationwide Saturday, to protest President Donald Trumps administration, including Elon Musk and his DOGE initiative to cut the federal workforce.(Watch the video to hear from some of those attending the rally.) Crowd protests Trump administration at Montana State CapitolWe stand here today as part of a national mass activation in defiance of the Trump-Musk takeover of our democracy, said Dennis Taylor, Helenas former city manager and a Marine veteran, who spoke at the rally. Tony Jewett is a volunteer with Helenas branch of Indivisible, one of the national organizations thats been involved in setting up these protests across the country. He said the turnout was stronger than they expected.Thats an indication of the emotion and frustration and anger thats in people right now about what's going on in Washington, he said. Mark Cadwallader, a Helena resident who said he was worried about slow-moving destruction of federal institutions, came carrying an American flag.Patriotism belongs to, not just the so-called right, but to all Americans, including Democrats and independents, he said. Speakers at the event expressed concerns about a wide range of Trump administration actions, from the newly increased federal tariffs to the job cuts at agencies like the National Institutes of Health, Department of Veterans Affairs and Social Security Administration. While the rally covered a lot of topics, Jewett said they were all part of an overarching theme.Our way of life and our country and our way of government is really directly under threat, he said. We're at a pivotal moment right now, and systems are being dismantled left and right. It's a dizzying process, and it's going to be really, really difficult to overcome that, but people have to mobilize, they have to talk to other people to stop what's going on. ...read more read less