They came with signs, with chants, with honking car horns and collective anger.
Saturday鈥檚 鈥楬ands Off鈥� protests drew massive crowds to Concord, Portsmouth and other communities across New Hampshire, as opponents of President Trump sought to voice their unhappiness with a wide array of his policies.
鈥淚鈥檓 a pretty cynical guy, but this is pretty amazing,鈥� said Jay White of Exeter, who attended the Portsmouth event. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just good to see that this amount of people are pissed off.鈥�
The protest in Portsmouth filled the sidewalks in the city鈥檚 downtown, forcing police to close roads to make room for demonstrators. Many people held signs and cycled through near-constant chants, voicing grievances against the administration.
鈥淚 feel like I wake up everyday and the things that are meaningful to me are under attack,鈥� Marnie Terhune of Lee.
Terhune cited public education as a top concern, while other protestors raised worries about Trump鈥檚 handling of civil rights, international relations, climate policy and immigration.
The 鈥淗ands Off鈥� rallies were organized in more than 1,000 communities in all 50 states, according to the group, which described it as the single largest day of action since Trump took office.
鈥淭ogether we can do big things,鈥� said Ariel Schmitt, a protester in Portsmouth. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to tear this country down; it鈥檚 not about destruction.鈥�
Some in the crowd, though, admitted that a single day of protests likely wouldn鈥檛 result in any real deterrence to Trump.
鈥淚 just want people to be a little bit more disruptive,鈥� said Sharon Imhoff, a longtime Portsmouth resident. 鈥淲e need massive boycotts. We need massive financial disruption.鈥�
Last week鈥檚 stock market tumble following the newly announced tariffs was enough disruption for some, though. Nancy Hamilton said her retirement account was battered by the Wall Street crash. She said her son was a federal worker who was laid off as part of the cuts orchestrated by Elon Musk.
鈥淚 feel like we are just going over a cliff, and I鈥檓 here to try and put the brakes on,鈥� said Hamilton.
