More than 3,000 people turned out to a Hands Off Hawaiʻi protest at the state Capitol on Saturday.
It was just one of many demonstrations held across the state and the country, in big cities and small towns to protest many of President Donald Trump's actions.
“Ugh where do I even start?” was one sign from the gathering — from the massive layoffs of federal workers to what some say are heavy-handed immigration actions, to the fears about privatization of institutions like the National Weather Service and the Social Security Administration, and the elimination of the Department of Education and other federal agencies.
One state worker, Evan Yazawa, showed up to sign wave Saturday to say hands off constitutional rights.
"It's been one nightmare after another. It's awful,” Yazawa said. “We have friends who've lost their jobs to the DOGE cuts, and there are many educators in our group of circles too, like people who get funding from the government for their research and things like that. We have a lot of queer friends who are stressed out. We even have some Eastern European friends as well, so a lot of our friend circle is affected, actually.”
Tamara, who was there with Evan and their son, works in environmental research. She told HPR just how widespread her concerns are as she considers her career, her family, and the communities she lives in.
"Besides what we've mentioned already, just the real assault on the civil service at the federal level, like the Park Service, museums, science funding," Tamara said. "I really feel like they're trying so actively to set us back by 50 years in terms of scientific research and conservation, reproductive rights, like, I don't even really know where to start or end... But, we care about our kid too, like what kind of future is he going to have? As we slip into fascism and cutting funding, or just completely cutting the Department of Education. What kind of insanity, like is this a dark comedy that we slipped into? This can't be real, right? Yet it is."
Jennifer Grave said she’s worried about the U.S. abandoning longtime allies and told us how the actions of the Trump administration are affecting her own family.
"I love Canadians, and it's just really hard to see,” Grave said. “I think that's probably the worst part of all this is how this administration is treating our allies, our friends that have fought beside us in nearly every silly war that we've ever fought. That and I really feel like women's rights are under attack. I have a daughter. I'm very scared for her. I'm feeling very 'Handmaid's Tale' up in here. I heard this earlier today. It's like it's becoming nonfiction and that's scary.”
Those were just a few of the many faces at Saturday’s rally at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol. Organizers said thousands more gathered across the state in Hilo, Kahului, Līhuʻe, and Lānaʻi City.
This interview aired on The Conversation on April 7, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
