Here are all the signs and shirts and dogs we saw at today's rally. Good job showin' up, Seattle. by Megan Seling Photos by Megan Seling Thousands of people filled Seattle Center today as part of the Hands Off national day of protes t. AP is reporting that more than 1,200 rallies took place across all 50 states.  Every nook and cranny of the Seattle Center was packed with people—from the plaza in front of the Vera Project to the walkways leading to the Armory. Crowds gathered and waved signs from atop the Fischer Pavilion while others pored into the bowl of the International Fountain. (It was not running, of course.) The afternoon's speakers included Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Port Commissioner Hamdi Mohamed, Tesla Takedown organizer Devin Hermanson, ACLU-WA Executive Director Michele Storms, and former Washington State Governor Jay Inslee. The sound system could only reach about halfway across the crowd, but even the folks in the back got into the chants as the noise rolled across the campus like a wave. Jayapal led the crowd in a call-and-response. "When Elon Musk and Donald Trump come for our immigrant community we say?" And the crowd roared back, "HANDS OFF!" "When they come for our trans siblings, we say?" "HANDS OFF!" "Hands off our bodies, our speech, our freedoms, our democracy!" she rallied. Then she got the crowd of thousands chanting, "Ain't no power like the power of the people, and the power of the people won't stop." And Sarah, a 17-year-old Running Start student and youth organizer, began her speech by proclaiming that she is everything Trump hates: Neurodivergent, an immigrant, and queer, and she pleaded with the crowd to stop Tump and his administration from fucking up her future. She asked how she's supposed to go to college if we can't be sure colleges will have funding. How is she supposed to be a teacher if it will be against the law to talk about who she loves in the classroom?  But it was (I believe) Riall Johnson of Prism West who made the most impressive observation of the afternoon. Recognizing the wealth disparity in Seattle, he said, "This is a home of people who own stock in major corporations and will benefit from Trump's tax breaks that are coming up." "Booooo!" the crowd roared. "Hold on, cause some of those people are you," he quipped back.  "If it is you, I want you to think about the money and what you can do beyond just marching. It should not be that somebody who is low-income and somebody who owns stock in a major corporation are both doing the same thing right now. It shouldn't. Your resistance and how much pain that you feel should be exactly related to how much money you make. If you have more, I need you to give more in this moment. If all you got is time, then give your time. But if you've got treasure, baby, you need to give it right now." The crowd cheered. Hopefully, all those folks who seem to agree will take that motivation from today's rally and call or email Gov. Ferguson to let him know he should reconsider his take on the wealth tax. But I digress. Here are all the signs and shirts and dogs we saw at today's rally. We'll be posting more photos and video on Instagram and Bluesky soon, too. Good job showin' up, Seattle. The crowd chants "Hey hey, ho ho! Trump and Musk have got to go!"[image or embed] — The Stranger (@thestranger.com) April 5, 2025 at 3:43 PM   ...read more read less