33 Photos Show Hands Off! Protests Against Trump And Musk Across California

CALIFORNIA, CA — Thousands of Californians took the streets Saturday as part of a nationwide series of Hands Off! demonstrations protesting the way the Trump administration is running the country.

Crowds of people marched and rallied in cities across the state and the country to protest the actions of President Donald Trump and his billionaire advisor Elon Musk, from mass layoffs and spending cuts, to mass deportations and steep tariffs.

Hands Off! demonstrations were organized for more than 1,200 locations in all 50 states by over 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and elections activists, according to The Associated Press.

Trump's allies in California dismissed the protests as "tantrums."

Los Angeles County Republican Party Chairman Roxanne Hoge said such demonstrations will have no effect on the Trump administration.

"Radical leftists are protesting President Donald Trump with marches and a parade balloon?" she said. "Their boring, predictable tantrums are now part of the L.A. landscape, much like the dilapidated RVs and dangerous encampments that their policies result in. We are interested in good governance and public safety, and wish our Democrat friends would join us in advocating for both."

However, though the largest protest took place in Los Angeles, the demonstrations spanned the state from the northern to the southern borders.

In Northern California, thousands of people rallied in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza.

"We either hang together or we hang separately," said state Assemblymember Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, in a speech at the rally. "We have to stay strong and not let these authoritarians get their way."

Hundreds flocked to the Livermorium Plaza in Livermore holding signs that demanded Trump and Musk keep their hands off education, health care, social programs and more.

In Southern California, at least 100 protests and marches were planned Saturday throughout the Southland, including events in Glendale, Riverside and Santa Ana.

Thousands of people filled Pershing Square in Los Angeles. The event started off with a rally, followed by a march along a nearly mile-long stretch of sidewalks and streets.

"When we come together, the rich sweat," Alan Vargas of California Young Democrats told the crowd. "Be loud. Be noisy. Be disruptive."

An estimated 500 people participated in a Hands Off! protest at the Temecula Duck Pond and Veterans Memorial in Temecula.

"Great time out with friends (on Saturday)," protestor Julie Geary told Patch. "This was the largest protest I've ever seen in Temecula."

Roughly 12,000 people participated in the downtown San Diego protest, according to the San Diego Police Department. Protestors gathered prior to noon at Civic Center Plaza before marching throughout the streets.

Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego, was in attendance and described the crowd as "incredible, it just kept going."

"I am just feeling so incredibly inspired," Jacobs said in an Instagram video. "I'm ready to go back to D.C. and to keep fighting and to keep making sure we are doing everything we can from Congress, while working with everyone who made their voice heard today to push back."

Other San Diego area rallies took place in Borrego Springs, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Oceanside and Rancho Bernardo.

Take a look at scenes from protests across the Golden State below.

City News Service and Bay City News Service contributed to this report.