Protestors took the streets throughout Lengthy Island to specific their dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump – significantly in response to his current tariffs.
The organizing group Arms Off held quite a few protests in each Nassau and Suffolk – Mineola, Riverhead, Patchogue, Sag Harbor, Port Jefferson Station, Greenport, East Hampton, and Farmingville.
The protestors’ chants – and the honking horns of assist and opposition – dominated main roadways.
A poster decrying Trump administration cuts to a number of authorities companies.Michael Malaszczyk
On the Port Jefferson Station protest, lots of gathered throughout the intersections of County Street 347, Route 112, and Canal Street.
“The history of our country is to support its citizens, and that is what we are hoping will happen,” Judy Black of the North Brookhaven Democratic Membership mentioned on the Port Jefferson Station protest. “These are peaceful protests across New York State, across Long Island, across the country, and we really want our government to work for the people that it represents. It is not to represent the very wealthy.”
Greater than 2,400 folks gathered outdoors the Nassau County Court docket Home for the Arms Off protest in Mineola, in line with estimates from organizers Interact LI and Present Up LI, who have been initially anticipating round 1,000 folks.
“I think ‘hands off’ was a really great message, because right now, pretty much everything that we care about and all the services that people depend on are under attack by this administration,” mentioned Rachel Klein, one of many Interact LI organizers. “So for those who care about your Social Safety being affected, your healthcare, your Medicare, your Medicaid, the immigrant group, libraries and museums — everyone seems to be impacted. In case you’re not already, you can be finally.
“So I think if you care about our democracy and our American way of life, this is the time to speak up and show up,” she mentioned. “And people really did.”
The Arms Off protest in Mineola, outdoors the Nassau County Court docket Home.
Rachel Klein, of Interact Lengthy Island, spoke on the Mineola Arms Off protest.
The Arms Off protests have been a part of a coordinated, nationwide effort demonstration. Greater than 1,400 protests have been held throughout all 50 U.S. states, gathering lots of of hundreds of contributors, with some saying thousands and thousands.
Along with Trump, protestors took purpose at Elon Musk, Trump’s senior advisor and de facto head of the Division of Authorities Effectivity.
“The people who bought Teslas, like myself, are people who all support the environment,” Port Jefferson protestor Ken Rosenblatt mentioned. “We’re environmentalists. We’re doing issues for clear air. It was nice. What he did at that time limit was unbelievable, however someway or one other, he went off, whether or not it’s a psychological factor or no matter it is perhaps, he went off to the loopy facet.
“The people who are working for Tesla are good, working American people. But what [Musk] is doing to this country is just the opposite of all the people who supported him, who bought stock in the company and all the rest. He has turned his back on the people who got him to where he is today.”
Others identified the speedy tempo the Trump administration seems to be shifting at to implement its agenda.
“More than 50% of the American voting population did not vote for Donald Trump, and every day he does more and more damage to the great nation that we are,” Dee Hansen, president of the North Brookhaven Democratic Committee, mentioned. “And we’re out here to say, no, we don’t believe in his policies. We want them to change. We want them to stop. Not only does it hurt individuals, it hurts families. It hurts the nation.”
Numerous different teams arrived on the Port Jefferson Station protest to point out their assist, together with the Islip-Smithtown Department of the Nationwide Affiliation for the Development of Coloured Folks (NAACP).
Linda Spahr and Joe Lescinski of the Islip-Smithtown Department of the NAACP.
Folks of all ages expressed their dissatisfaction via indicators on the Arms Off protest in Mineola.
“We don’t like the way the direction of the country is going at this point,” Joe Lescinski, a member, mentioned. “The idea of so many rights being ignored, being taken away, people losing their jobs, people being deported without legitimacy, including the poor man that’s sitting in a jail down in Central America wrongly, and the other things – the wholesale cuts in education, the Environmental Protection Agency, we’re just concerned we’re going down a direction we should not be moving in, and it’s certainly not reflective of the democratic values in this country.”
A noteworthy attendee on the Port Jefferson Station Arms Off protest was Dave Calone, who ran for Suffolk County Govt in 2023 as a Democrat, dropping to present County Govt Ed Romaine. Calone known as for Romaine to face up in opposition to the nationwide Republican Social gathering.
“He’s the kind of person who understands what’s happening,” Calone mentioned of Romaine. “I know he understands that families are being squeezed here on Long Island and in Suffolk County because of the Trump tax policies and because of these tariffs. And I would love to see him stand up and hold his own party accountable for this. I think he knows it, and I think he can do it, and his voice would be respected and heard.”
Arms Off protestors on 347 in Port Jefferson Station.
Becoming a member of the Mineola crowd have been U.S. Reps Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen, State Senator Siela Bynoe and Nassau County Legislator Debra Mulé, all Democrats.
One of the vital outstanding demographics on the protests throughout Lengthy Island was seniors. Their issues about Medicare and Medicaid, their retirement financial savings and their kids’s and grandchildren’s futures, Klein mentioned, are what compelled them to courageous the rain on April 5.
1000’s participated within the Arms Off protests throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties.Keith Rossein Images
“People said they didn’t think they’d have to be protesting this when they’re in their 70s and 80s,” Klein mentioned. “People with mobility issues showed up.”
The final word purpose of those Arms Off protests — those throughout Lengthy Island and throughout the nation — was visibility, she mentioned. To let neighbors know that the present state of affairs shouldn’t be regular, and the administration’s actions are extra than simply unpopular — there’s a “mass resistance” to them.
“These were regular people out there — these are your neighbors, your teachers, your mailman,” Klein mentioned. “This isn’t some, like, radical fringe motion. That is common, on a regular basis people who find themselves very involved about what’s occurring, sounding the alarm, displaying up in teams.
“We can’t take the right to protest for granted anymore in the U.S.”
The Arms Off protest in Mineola had a crowd of round 2,400 contributors.Keith Rossein Images
