# @chapelboronews on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DIHqC60vDxp
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/29042942-chapelboronews-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/9bd3ea3947.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-04-06T21:07:56.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Chapelboro.com (@chapelboronews) — https://gondola.cc/chapelboronews

## Caption

When Gerrie Richards filled out the form to reserve the Peace & Justice Plaza for a Chapel Hill location of Saturday’s national protests against President Donald Trump’s administrative actions, she initially gave a conservative estimate.

But as the RSVPs rolled in, she quickly realized it was going to be much bigger.

“I put down 50,” Richards told Chapelboro about her initial estimate on the reservation form. “Then I connected with the national hotline for [Hands Off!], and it quickly went up to 100. That, I thought, would be it… but every day, I kept seeing more people signing on until I had close to 850 people that had signed [up on] that one website.”

Ultimately, the “Hands Off!” protest — locally sponsored by Richards’ Chapel Hill chapter of the National Organization of Women — drew even more people than that Saturday afternoon. Not only was the Peace & Justice Plaza packed with supporters, but people holding signs and leading chants lined a block of East Franklin Street on the other side of the road. Some people who struggled find parking drove in loops around the plaza, sticking their signs out from car windows and sunroofs to participate.

On a day where cities across the country saw demonstrations criticizing Trump and Elon Musk’s widespread efforts to cut or scale back the federal government, the Chapel Hill community joined in with other Triangle members like Durham, Raleigh and Pittsboro. Protestors’ concerns ranged a variety of topics in the crosshairs of the presidential administration: cuts to scientific research, eliminating diversity and inclusion components of departments, threats to Social Security, Medicare, voting rights and more.

Full story on Chapelboro.com.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#chapelhill #handsoff #handsoffprotest

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 250
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 3

## Tags

handsoff, handsoffprotest, chapelhill

---
Copyright (c) Gondola