Hundreds gather under Forest Grove flagpole for Trump, Musk 'Hands Off' protest
Hundreds of protesters gathered at Forest Grove's giant flag Saturday afternoon as part of the nationwide "Hands Off" protest against President Donald Trump and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, and more Forest Grove residents went to Hillsboro to hear from Congresswoman Bonamici.
Hundreds of protesters gathered at Forest Grove's giant flag Saturday afternoon as part of the nationwide "Hands Off" protest against President Donald Trump and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency.
For more than an hour, demonstrators waved signs bearing a wide variety of messages, cheered as cars honked (mixed in with the occasional driver extending a one-fingered salute) and expressed their displeasure with the Trump administration.
For some Forest Grove protesters, it was at least their third such demonstration that day; an earlier protest in Hillsboro drew many Forest Grove residents, while Forest Grove area residents were also at a smaller protest in North Plains.
The Forest Grove "Hands off" protest. Photos: Chas HundleyPhoto: Chas Photo: Chas HundleyPgdfgdd
The protest was organized by Lexi Zia, a Forest Grove resident.
Zia, joined Saturday by Larry, a Black Lab, had attended smaller protests recently, but when checking an online map of protests last week for the growing "Hands Off" day of protests, didn't see a Forest Grove protest.
"So I created the event, and by the time the event started, I had 103 people signed up," Zia said.
More than 320 people were counted minutes before the interview, and several groups of people joined the protest shortly afterward, driving the number to estimates of around 400.
Hear more from Zia below.
Where possible, we have included audio interviews from those News in the Grove spoke to. The dynamic nature of the protests — honking, loud music, occasional chants — have made that impossible for some interviews.
Zia plans to continue protesting.
"If you can, show up, in big or small ways," Zia said.
"I have a physical disability, I have a chronic illness, and I was able to show up by sitting in a chair today," Zia said.
"Someone helped me bring my chair here and sit down. People are willing to help, so do what you can from your end," Zia added.
Forest Grove's protest was a family event; children and dogs joined in. The only moment that this journalist witnessed that could be described as confrontational was around 40 minutes into the protest, when a bright blue Kia Rio stopped in the road.
Vehicles honking in support of the demonstrators were quickly joined by vehicles honking at the vehicle obstructing traffic.
A video recording of part of the incident from a video camera set up by News in the Grove to capture the protest shows Forest Grove City Councilor Donna Gustafson, who was participating as a protester, confront the vehicle's occupant and take photos of the vehicle, which was blocking the left-hand westbound lane of Pacific Avenue just west of Maple Street.
When asked about the incident, Gustafson said the driver claimed the vehicle had broken down. The same video camera that captured the incident also captured a protester saying they had seen the vehicle drive by before, and after Gustafson took a photo of the vehicle's license plate, the driver eventually got back in the car and drove away at Gustafson's urging.
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"The driver lifted up the hood to pretend her car broke down," Gustafson said. After shaking hands — "the driver squeezed my hand as hard as she could," Gustafson said — the city councilor told the driver to move on.
Gustafson said her husband provided the sound system for Saturday's protest (a rotating mix of music ranging from Muse to Katy Perry could be heard throughout the day).
Hear from Gustafson below on her reasons for joining the protest.
Gustafson said she visited Washington D.C. for a conference in March, and while there, visited Senate offices for a protest to urge members of Congress to fight harder against the federal government's policies.
Protesters expressed a wide variety of reasons for their decision to hold signs and stand underneath the flagpole Saturday.
Brian Domsic, a Cornelius resident, said he was concerned about the economy. President Trump had just sharply escalated the U.S. trade war on Wednesday, drawing global concern that the economy could face severe consequences.
"Tracking my investments, watching what's happened with the Dow and NASDAQ and S&P 500, this gives all appearances as being the start of a market crash," he said.
On Monday, markets edged close to a bear market.
"I am here for so many reasons," said Emily Lux, a teacher, artist, and member of Forest Grove's Public Arts Commission. Lux pointed to a canvas sign created for the occasion.
"I'm here for our future, I'm here because I can see what's happening, I'm here because I care about my students. One of my very best friends is trans and disabled," Lux said, adding that she has a multicultural, diverse friend group.
"For us, and everyone, I think that the time is now to act. It has been here for a long time, and what we're seeing is really scary," Lux said.
"I think the most important thing that we can do right now is rehumanize each other," Lux added. "I think we live in an era where dehumanization is the default, and we need to fight against that more than anything else."
Allen Neuringer, who lives between Glenwood and Timber in rural western Washington County with his wife Martha Neuringer described Martha as a scientist, and himself as both a scientist and educator.
"What this country is going through is tragic. I'm 85, I want to leave this world a bit better than it is under Trump," Neuringer said.
Martha Neuringer said the Trump administration's cuts to funding to federal programs like Head Start, cuts to funding for research at the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health, and the gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development were an engineered assault on American values and lives.
"We're all being made less safe, less secure, and we have to stand up," she said.
"On Martha's comment about insecurity, I've never felt as worried as I do now," Allen said. "Over the many years that I've been involved with teaching, with politics a little, I've never, ever felt as concerned with the future of this country," he said.
Forest Grove Indivisible heads to Hillsboro
Hillsboro's "Hands Off" protest. Photo: Chas Hundley
Members of Forest Grove Indivisible, a local chapter of the nationwide group joined a Hillsboro protest in downtown Hillsboro, which included remarks by Forest Grove-born Metro Councilor Juan Carlos González, Hillsboro Mayor Beach Pace, and U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici.
Organizers said more than a thousand people were there; the crowd packed the Tom Hughes Civic Center Plaza at the downtown Hillsboro Civic Center, which seats 700 on the plaza's amphitheater, and more stood and lined the rest of the plaza during the demonstration.
Katie Moss, who lives between Dilley and Gaston, said her main reason for attending the protest was her concern over cuts to funding for breast cancer research.
Listen to her remarks below.
After the rally, News in the Grove spoke with three elected officials.
"The energy was amazing. It was inspiring," said Hillsboro Mayor Beach Pace in an interview with News in the Grove. "It reminds people that we're not alone in our worry, in our angst and our concern, and our anger, frankly. It's important to know that people care about what's going on in our community and our country."
"Our democracy is being dismantled, and as a veteran, frankly, it upsets me," Pace said.
Pace is a graduate of West Point Academy, and served for seven years in the U.S. Army. According to her website, Pace served in Explosive Ordnance Disposal as Executive Officer and Commander within the Ordnance branch.
Listen to Pace's full remarks below.
Metro Councilor Juan Carlos González enthusiastically agreed with Pace's comments and added his own.
"I think what we saw today was an incredible coming together of communities across city boundaries, and that to me has always been my passion about Metro," the Forest Grove-born and Cornelius raised Metro councilor said. González' District 4 represents Forest Grove, Cornelius, Hillsboro, and other portions of north and west urban Washington County.
"It's our regionalism, it's what brings us together, and what impacts Forest Grove, impacts Hillsboro, impacts Portland, impacts this country, and it's in us every single day to fight for the America that we want to see," he said.
"There is an enthusiasm for this country, and we love this country, and we're not going to let them do this to something that we love, to our home," González said.
U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici, a Democratic Congresswoman who has represented Oregon's First Congressional District since 2012, said the rally was the first of the day for her. She was headed to Beaverton for another protest next.
"The rally here in Hillsboro was amazing," Bonamici said.
She expected up to 200 people to show.
The Hillsboro "Hands Off" protest. Photos: Chas Hundley
"This rally was packed full of people who are genuinely concerned about what's happening with the federal government in our country," Bonamici said.
She urged those who hadn't shown up to get involved.
"Make your voice heard in some way," she said, "Whatever works for you, but don't ignore what's happening."
Bonamici said that she was receiving two to three times as many emails and calls over what was typical from Oregonians concerned about the federal government's policies.
Cuts to the Department of Education, Medicaid, things happening globally and Trump's series of tariffs and the associated rise in cost of goods were all concerns she was hearing.
"Please, make your voice heard. This is going to be a ground-up effort to send a message that the policies that the Trump administration are pushing are not what Americans wants or needs," she said.
Bonamici thanked Indivisible Hillsboro and other local organizers for organizing the protest.
Hillsboro's protest and others across the nation would be heard, she said.
"People are going to be hearing loud and clear that this administration is raising costs, not lowering costs, taking away opportunities for education, they're taking away healthcare rights, and I think our country is going to be in a lot more danger from the incompetence, for example, from the people who are in the cabinet, particularly in the national security front," Bonamici said.
"They're not people who are there because they're qualified for the job, they're people who are there for loyalty to Donald Trump and that's going to hurt our country, our standing in the world, and our national security," she said.
