Demonstrators gathered on streets near Hawthorne Park and then moved to Vogel Plaza downtown
By Buffy Pollock, Rogue Valley Times
Thousands of protestors rallying against the policies of President Donald Trump and his administration lined the streets of Medford between Hawthorne Park, East Jackson Street and downtown for more than four hours Saturday.
A pair of events kicked off with a “Hands Off!” rally from 10 a.m. to noon at Hawthorne Park, hosted by ORD2 Indivisible and Women’s March Southern Oregon.
Nationally, April 5 was declared as a “National Day of Action for people across the country standing up to Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the MAGA agenda,” according to organizers.
More than 1,200 events were planned globally on Saturday, with more than a quarter-million signups, organizers said.
More than 2,000 demonstrators were at the Hawthorne Park event, with some saying as many as 3,000. They spilled from the park lawn down East Jackson Street from Crater Lake Avenue to the Interstate 5 viaduct and lined up onto nearby Biddle Road.
Signs of all colors and shapes declaring everything from “Defund Fascism,” “Defeat the Day One Dictator” and “Deport Elon” were hoisted to the honks of passing motorists.
The catch phrase of the event, “Hands Off!” was evident from signs calling for the protection of women’s bodies, the environment, transgender rights and Social Security to education and clean energy. Other sign themes ran the gamut from Malcom X and Dr. Seuss to MLK, rainbows, the Ukrainian flag and Mario Bros.
While the occasional driver offered a single-finger salute or shook their heads at the crowd, most honked in support and waved their own signs back.
Medford resident Sara Gifford, who took photos from a median strip at the Biddle Road and East Jackson Street traffic light, said she “didn’t expect this kind of a turnout in this area.”
Gifford said she was encouraged to see the community “stand up together.”
“I think there’s a lot of feeling of power, and the need to stand up for what our country actually was supposed to be founded on,” she said.
“Everything that this country was built on is now threatened, and he’s only been in office a few months. … All of these people that voted for Trump are getting affected and need to wake up,” Gifford said.
Local resident Kelly Moore said recent decisions by the administration were wreaking “long-term damage” on the country and would have global impacts.
“The most demoralizing and most shocking to me is the constant assault on the Constitution and Congress is just going to let him get away with it, so now he stands up and says he’s going to go for a third term,” she said. Saturday’s turnout, she noted, was encouraging.
“It’s a huge number of people, and I’m just impressed. … I think the crowds are going to keep getting bigger the more things that happen,” Moore said.
Trail resident Debbie Herzog played drums at Hawthorne Park, adding some rhythm to the event. Herzog, 70, said she’d been protesting, and playing drums for protests, since she was 25.
Of the size of the crowd, Herzog said, “It strengthens my heart. … I think all these people have been sitting and have been so petrified what was going to happen and to see so my come out they’re now saying, ‘I’m not alone.’”
Herzog noted that recent decisions by the administration “are causing harm to so many,” adding, “Everyone is affected. Me, my kids, my grandkids … all of us are in trouble.”
State Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, was in attendance at the Medford event and marveled at the turnout.
“This feels phenomenal. There are people of all ages here, males, females, young people, old people … and the most creative signs I’ve ever seen,” she said. “People took this opportunity to come together and stand up — and they are sure doing it.”
Erick Lindquist, one of the event organizers for ORD2 Indivisible, called the event “amazing.”
“Everybody showed up early, ready to go, with great signs. I think it’s so therapeutic for people to get out and talk about the things they’re concerned about because politicians are not listening to us,” he said. “It’s time we let them know we’re not going away and we’re going to keep putting pressure on them until they start listening. … Our country is headed from ‘For the people, by the people,’ to ‘For the billionaires, by the billionaires.’ And it’s the wrong direction.”
He added, “They’re following the fascist playbook, going after the weakest people first. … It’s outrageous, we’re being attacked on all fronts.”
A second rally picked up at noon, hosted by 50501, with many of the Hawthorne Park attendees walking, biking, pushing wheelchairs and strollers and driving to downtown’s Vogel Plaza along Central Avenue.
The crowds rallied on all four corners, with some protestors sitting or riding on bikes and at least one man pedaling a bike with a Trump cutout, donning a jail suit, riding shotgun.
Both demonstrations on Saturday were peaceful, according to Medford police, who had additional personnel staffed to monitor the events. Police reported a handful of traffic citations issued related to the event.
During the demonstration at Vogel Plaza, two pickup trucks, with their license plates covered up, drove down Central Avenue with one truck dusting the crowd with a heavy, black smoke, known as “rolling coal,” while the driver of the second truck videoed and laughed.
During a second attempted pass-through, Medford police pulled the driver over and issued a traffic citation, according to Medford police.
Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 458-488-2029 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal. This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.
Related story: Hundreds rally at Ashland Plaza to protest Trump administration policies (April 5, 2025)
