On Saturday, more than a dozen rallies were held throughout Maine as part of a national day of action to protest the policies of President Donald Trump.

The “Hands Off” rallies were scheduled from Wells to as far north as Lubec.

In Portland, thousands of people gathered in Monument Square late Saturday morning. Around lunchtime, another crowd — estimated by organizers at about 3,000 — gathered outside the Maine State House in Augusta. And in other towns and cities across the state, smaller gatherings were held, including protests of a few hundred people in Auburn, South Paris and South Portland.

Saturday’s protests were focused on President Donald Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s efforts to cut the federal workforce through mass firings, rumored threats to safety-net programs like Social Security and Medicaid, and heightened action by immigration officers as part of a massive deportation effort.

Though Saturday’s demonstrations were relatively large, Mainers have been taking to the streets for weeks. In addition to those protesting the federal government’s policies, hundreds have also called for Maine Gov. Janet Mills to relent following her high-profile clash with Trump.

Editor’s note: Our live coverage is starting to wind down as protests come to an end. We’ll have a separate story later to wrap up the day’s events. The live feed follows below.

3:30 p.m.: Watch Sen. Angus King speak at Portland protest

PORTLAND — Earlier Saturday afternoon, Sen. Angus King briefly spoke to the crowd in Portland’s Monument Square from base of the monument.

“The power of the people is more important and stronger than the people in power,” King said, to cheers of “Angus! Angus! Angus!”

King, a Maine independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, described Trump and DOGE’s slashing of federal departments and programs as “tyranny.”

“The dangerous part is, this is the most serious assault on our constitution in the history of our country,” King said.

— Katie Langley, Portland Press Herald

2:30 p.m.: Large demonstrations wrap up, though a few protesters linger

AUGUSTA — By about 2:20 p.m., the protest in Augusta had effectively ended, but for a smaller group, the march continued, with some making their third and fourth laps around the block.

Organizers had intended the march to take place on the sidewalk, but the width of Capitol Street was filled with a throng of protesters shortly before 2 p.m.

Vivian Myers-Jones, a protester from New Brunswick, Canada, said an organizer estimated 3,000 people were at the protest during its peak.

Several students from Bates College in Lewiston said they came to Augusta to protest in support of Palestine. One student, Dylan, said action on the Israel-Hamas war is overdue.

“We’ve been seeing a genocide unfolding before our eyes for years now, and it’s overdue that people are doing something,” he said. “We’ve been trying to make change, and I think some people are being shocked into action now, which is good to see.”

Another student, Robert, said it’s important to exercise the right to protest.

“We’re fighting to continue fighting — about Palestine, about everything that’s going on in this country,” he said. “It’s important that we come together now.”

— Hannah Kaufman, Kennebec Journal

1:45 p.m.: Motorists honk as Auburn protest ends

AUBURN — The roughly 500 people gathered on Longley Bridge between Lewiston and Auburn had largely dissipated by 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

Though there wasn’t a lot of chanting or singing, many protesters felt it was a productive and safe show of resistance against changes happening to the federal government led by President Donald Trump.

“I think it was peaceful,” Lewiston resident Charles Coes said. “I think a lot of people showed up and said that they don’t approve of what’s going on. I think that a demonstration like that will hopefully make a difference to a lot of people who are undecided.”

Debbie Bourassa has felt like the world has fallen apart as Trump has downsized federal agencies and taken several other measures to reform the government, she said.

She was glad to stand in protest with Auburn, representing just one group of people protesting in municipalities across the state and nation, she said. She called people who drove by “very respectful” and said she only noticed one person in a vehicle giving the middle finger.

Holly and Peter Lasagna were aware of the protests across the state and wanted to come out too, they said. They feel like “we’re losing the country,” Holly Lasagna said.

Holly Lasagna hoped Saturday’s protests are just the start: Next, she hopes to see sit-ins and national strikes, she said. She felt joyful to be at the protest and said the majority of people driving by honked in support of the protest.

“A lot of this is about organizing, getting people to realize that they can do this, that it’s friendly, that it’s a great group,” she said.

For Peter Lasagna, protesting lets those impacted by what is happening at the federal level know they have support, he said.

“There are a lot of us,” he said. “It’s important, and it’s important for people see other people want to stand with them.

“It’s vital because we have learned we can’t wait for our elected officials to try to stop this. It’s up to us, and quite honestly that’s really energizing.”

— Kendra Caruso and Andree Kehn, Sun Journal

1:35 p.m.: Officer says motorist was warned for revving engine at protesters

SOUTH PARIS — Sgt. Tim Holland of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Department said a motorist received a warning for revving his truck engine and spraying diesel fumes at protesters in South Paris on Saturday morning.

Holland said the motorist had been “flagrant and disrespectful” when he loudly revved the engine near the crowd of about 300 protesters, emitting a dark cloud of exhaust.

— Rose Lincoln, Bethel Citizen

1:30 p.m.: Augusta protesters march near State House

AUGUSTA — After some speeches, protesters assembled outside the Maine State House began a march nearby.

Protest organizers told marchers to stay on the sidewalk and instructed them not to engage with any possible counterprotesters.

A large crowd of anti-Trump protesters marches near the Maine State House in Augusta on Saturday. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

As the crowd filed onto the sidewalk of Capitol Street, a person with megaphone led a call-and-response chant: “Tell me what democracy looks like,” they said. And marchers replied: “This is what democracy looks like!”

Father and daughter Greg and Ruby Beane, of Orono, marched together.

Greg Beane said it could take him an hour to explain what led him to protest.

“Where to start?” Beane said. “I just felt compelled to stand and be counted. I’m not in favor of a lot of these policies of this administration.”

Meanwhile, passing cars honked their support while people nearby offered encouragement to marchers.

The protest’s first speaker, who gave her name as Emily, started off the lineup with a speech about grassroots organizing and supporting everyone — just not the 1%.

“The day will come where the poor have nothing left to eat but the rich,” she said. “They can cut Maine funding, but they will never eradicate Maine’s resistance.”

— Hannah Kaufman and Joe Phelan, Kennebec Journal

1:15 p.m.: ‘Kill them with kindness’

AUBURN — By early Saturday afternoon, hundreds of protesters had gathered around Longley Bridge between Lewiston and Auburn.

Wearing puffy jackets, flannels and camouflage sweaters, they gathered at one of the busiest bridges in the Twin Cities. Organizer Pat Fogg said that was intentional.

Fogg — who in 2017 founded Central Maine Resist, which helped organize Saturday’s protest — thinks people are becoming increasingly discontent about President Donald Trump’s decisions.

“They come together because they have to have a voice, because other than that, there is depression,” she said. “And the scrutiny in the administration is chaotic. They have removed anyone who is competent and have been replaced everyone with incompetency.”

Fogg had expected about 300 people to attend the Auburn protest. She also organizes protests every Tuesday on Lisbon Street in Lewiston; about 80 people attended last week.

Eileen Fair attends those weekly protests and has seen the attendance grow over time — evidence that she, too, thinks points to a growing discomfort with Trump over the last several weeks.

Fair said she has a long history of active protest going back to the 1960s, when she protested for things like women’s rights, she said. She was back at it Saturday, fighting against Trump’s policies.

“Well, how the Constitution is not being followed and rights are being, you know, squashed. … You know, things that we always have taken for granted are now, all of a sudden, off the table,” she said.

Though many drivers honked in support, Fair chose to ignore the negative comments yelled at protesters by other drivers and passengers, she said.

Jill Hurd, of Auburn, holds a sign reading “I choose love” on Saturday during a protest at Longley Bridge between Lewiston and Auburn. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Auburn resident Tracey Libby took a slightly different approach: “Kill them with kindness,” she said.

She came out to the protest with her teenage son to show that people shouldn’t get away with bullying, which is what she feels Trump does.

“You know, we raise our kids to be respectful and kind and teach them that bullies shouldn’t get ahead in the world, right? But when we have the president of the United States, who is a bully, it is just not right,” Libby said. “It’s not a good message to send to our kids, our next generation.”

— Kendra Caruso, Sun Journal

1 p.m.: Thousands protest at State House

AUGUSTA — A tightly packed crowd of more than 1,000 protesters — organizers later estimated about 3,000 — covered the Maine State House lawn and steps early Saturday afternoon.

Susanne Ashland, of Farmingdale, turned 80 on Saturday and said she chose to spend her birthday at the protest to fight for people’s rights.

“At 80 years old, I thought we’d have already gotten the rights for the Blacks, and the rights for immigrants, and the rights for women and trans — and I guess (I was) wrong,” Ashland said. “Because for some reason, some people think that’s not important.”

Susanne Ashland, of Farmingdale, who was celebrating her 80th birthday Saturday, chose to spend her day protesting outside the Maine State House in Augusta. Her sign reads, “I turned 80 today, I’ve seen a lot, but this takes the cake.” Hannah Kaufman/Kennebec Journal

At the entrance to the demonstration, a Capitol Police officer was asking protesters to remove any wooden posts from their signs. That didn’t stop 57-year-old Bridget Mullen from brandishing her poster high.

Mullen said she took a 7 a.m. ferry from Vinalhaven to be at the protest. She’s been looking after her sick mother — but her mother wanted her to go to the protest.

“I was like, ‘I’ll stay with you,’” Mullen said. “She’s like, ‘No, you need to go.’”

— Hannah Kaufman, Kennebec Journal

12:50 p.m.: South Portland protest goes up and down Broadway

SOUTH PORTLAND — A few hundred anti-Trump demonstrators gathered around lunchtime at Erskine Park in South Portland and walked up and down Broadway, cheering as passing cars beeped in support.

Organizer Barbara Dee estimated that about 350 people attended the demonstration, which wrapped up just before 1 p.m.

Protester Eve Abreu, of South Portland, said she attended because she’s concerned about the Trump administration cutting government offices and potentially Social Security, as well as “seeing our rights disappear.”

“I’ve been going to rallies since Vietnam,” Abreu said.

Demonstrators said they didn’t see any counterprotesters in South Portland — though they did get a few middle fingers from drivers passing by.

Joyce Mendoza, of South Portland, gives a passing motorist a thumbs-up Saturday during the anti-Trump protest at Erskine Park in South Portland. Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald

“I’m feeling like the majority out here,” said Angela Crabtree, of South Portland. “There’s a lot of support here.”

— Katie Langley, Portland Press Herald

12:45 p.m.: Portland protest starts to wrap up — slowly

PORTLAND — Nearly two hours after it began, the protest in Monument Square came to its official end and the large crowds began to slowly disperse. But hundreds of people remained in the area.

Police began asking people to stay off Congress Street so it could reopen to vehicular traffic.

A protester holds a cardboard depiction of President Donald Trump in a golden toilet on Saturday during a protest in Portland’s Monument Square. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

— Brianna Soukup, Portland Press Herald

12:15 p.m.: Part of Congress Street closes due to protest

PORTLAND — Congress Street between Center and Temple streets was shut down by police as protesters flooded the streets around Monument Square. Some climbed the base of the monument in the square and chanted “hands off!” and “Donald Trump has got to go!”

Amanda Avallone, of Cape Elizabeth, said that the influence that Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency are having were at the top of her mind when deciding to protest Saturday.

“Nobody, not even the people that voted for Trump, voted for DOGE,” said Avallone, holding a sign that read “Deranged Oligarchs Gutting Economy.”

“This is about helping people recognize that we, the nonbillionaires of America, all have more in common than we think, and that we need to resist,” she added.

Avallone said it’s “absurd” to cut programs that the government deems “inefficient,” even if they help people: “If DOGE came into your family, they would say, ‘Put your kids on the street and get rid of your pets, because they’re not efficient.’”

— Katie Langley, Portland Press Herald

Noon: Crowd lines both sides of Auburn bridge

AUBURN — What started out as a few dozen “Hands Off” protesters gathering at the Longley Bridge between Lewiston and Auburn on Saturday morning turned had grown to about 500 by the early afternoon.

Some came from the Lewiston side and walked across the bridge, while others parked in Auburn.

The protesters were met with both honks of support and negative comments such as “get a job” during the Saturday afternoon protest.

Protesters line both sides of Longley Bridge in Auburn for a “Hands Off” protest to oppose Trump administration policies. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Auburn resident Fred Brodeur was not deterred by those comments. He is a Christian who responded to such remarks with, “Blessed are those who persecute me, so I am blessed.”

Brodeur feels President Donald Trump’s policies and decisions do not align with his Christian faith.

“He’s harming people throughout the world,” he said. “His policies are basically anti-Christ policies. He’s had to destroy the economy, the planet, the relationship with our friends, with people, and divide the U.S., hurting the most vulnerable in our society.”

Susan Murphy traveled from Bridgton to join the protest on what normally would have been a quiet day for her. But when she thinks about the changes she has seen in the federal government, she fears for the future of the generations to come.

“It’s going to take well over a generation to rectify,” she said, “and I can’t let that go by and just be sitting at home and be complacent about it.”

— Kendra Caruso, Sun Journal

11:45 a.m.: Band plays as Augusta crowd forms

AUGUSTA — As the crowd outside the Maine State House grew from a handful to several dozen around noon Saturday, the Huddled Masses Orchestra performed brass music to warm up the assembled protesters.

Around noon, no counterprotesters were assembled at the nearby intersection of Capitol and Chamberlain streets — a popular location for such counterdemonstrations.

— Joe Phelan, Kennebec Journal

11:30 a.m.: ‘I’ve never seen a crowd like this’

PORTLAND — Cheryl Wentworth, of Kennebunk, held a papier-mâché sign depicting President Donald Trump in a “golden toilet” at the Monument Square protest Saturday.

Wentworth said the Trump administration is “destroying all of our assets, destroying all of the things that we took for granted and didn’t even know we had, and destroying democracy, basically.”

She said she regularly attends rallies in Kennebunk and Portland, but this one was the largest she’s seen in Monument Square.

By a reporter’s count, at least 1,000 protesters — potentially closer to 2,000 — had gathered in the square by 11:30 a.m., and the crowd continued to grow as the event continued.

A crowd numbering well over 1,000 gathers for Portland’s “Hands Off” protest in Monument Square on Saturday. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

“I think it’s brilliant; I’ve never seen a crowd like this,” Wentworth said.

— Katie Langley, Portland Press Herald

11:15 a.m.: Concerned Mainers attend their first protest

PORTLAND — Andy and Mary Wright, of Falmouth, and Lisa Miller, of Cumberland, all attended their first protest in Monument Square on Saturday.

“I’m appalled at what’s going on, and I’ve never participated in a protest, and I can’t just sit on the couch,” Andy Wright said. “I’ve got to do something.”

They held a sign that read, “Hands off Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare.”

“I’m 65; I was planning on Social Security checks — not so sure anymore,” Andy Wright said.

The trio also said they were concerned about the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, as well as Trump’s actions regarding Ukraine.

“The only way we’re going to reverse the course we’re on is to have a groundswell of everyday people,” Lisa Miller said.

— Katie Langley, Portland Press Herald

10:55 a.m.: Monument Square fills ahead of protest

PORTLAND — Monument Square was packed on both sides of Congress Street as people assembled in the minutes leading up to the demonstration’s official start at 11 a.m. Saturday.

A band played as passing cars honked their horns and demonstrators held signs, some of which read “keep your fascist hands off my social security” and “with liberty and justice for all means ALL.”

A large crowd gathers in Portland’s Monument Square on Saturday morning for a “Hands Off” protest against the Trump administration. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

— Katie Langley, Portland Press Herald

10:50 a.m.: Freeport protest wraps up

FREEPORT — As of 10 a.m., Main Street in Freeport was still dotted with protesters, some wearing pink hats dating back to protests against the first Trump administration.

A large group of kids and parents had arrived at around 9:30 a.m. One of them, Melissa, who declined to share her last name, said she was thrilled to have found a way to take action against the administration.

“I saw it posted online, and I immediately texted all my friends. I just wanted to spread the word,” said Melissa, 40.

She, like many protesters there, said she was concerned about a litany of actions by the Trump administration and was grateful for a place to protest everything from cuts to the federal workforce and tariffs to the rollback of protections for transgender people.

“I just don’t feel our current administration is representing the American spirit, and I wanted to stand up and show what America is really about,” she said.

Her 5-year-old daughter stood beside her, holding her own homemade sign, which was small enough to balance on the palms of her two hands. “Believe in yourself,” read the silver marker etched on cardboard.

“This is fun,” her daughter said of attending the protest.

“I like all the cars honking at us and the people,” she added, “and I wrote this because some people put pressure on their selves and I want them to just believe.”

By 10:15 a.m., the crowd began to dissipate as people walked down side streets and cars hummed to life. By 10:30 a.m., the street was clear.

— Grace Benninghoff, Portland Press Herald

10:45 a.m.: Protesters begin to congregate near State House

AUGUSTA — Handfuls of people started to arrive near the Maine State House a little more than an hour before a protest scheduled to begin at noon.

As protesters trickled in, the Huddled Masses Orchestra, a brass band from Waldo County, began to set up.

— Joe Phelan, Kennebec Journal

10:35 a.m.: Hundreds assemble in South Paris

SOUTH PARIS — By midmorning, more than 300 protesters had gathered in South Paris near Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School.

Shannon Korhonen Brown and her mother, Linda Korhonen, both of West Paris, were among the crowd.

Shannon Korhonen Brown, right, with arm raised, and her mother, Linda Korhonen, both of West Paris, join a South Paris protest against Trump administration policies Saturday. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

“This was not on my bingo card for 2025, making protest signs and protesting with my mom, but here we are,” Korhonen Brown said.

“I am 73 years old next year, and this is my first protest,” her mother added.

— Andree Kehn, Sun Journal

10:30 a.m.: ‘It’s an assault on democracy,’ South Portland protest organizer says

South Portland rally organizer Barbara Dee explained that the message of the day Saturday was that the government keep its “hands off” protections and programs people rely on — hence the name of the rallies.

“I think it’s an assault on the history of the philosophical origins of the United States of America,” Dee said Friday. “I think it’s an assault on democracy, and that’s what’s foremost in people’s minds.”

Dee said she is encouraging people to keep the momentum going after Saturday by calling their members of Congress and continuing to demonstrate.

“My sign says, ‘hands off public education,’ because my career was in public education, but I saw a lot of other signs at the poster party — hands off the environment, hands off veterans, off Social Security, everything,” Dee said. “But this is a huge fault on the foundations of America.”

— Katie Langley, Portland Press Herald

10:15 a.m.: Organizers explain significance of Freeport protest location

FREEPORT — Saturday morning wasn’t the first time a crowd gathered along the stretch of Main Street between the Bakeshop and Post Office.

Jerry, 74, who declined to to share his last name because he was afraid of retaliation, says he has been involved in organizing protests in Freeport against the Trump administration since early March. He said a smaller group has been coming out to protest in the same spot every Tuesday morning since March 11.

“I got tired of sitting on my couch and getting my anger out on Facebook. It was time for somebody to take action. It started with just two of us, and it’s grown to this,” he said, gesturing toward the 100-some people gathered Saturday.

The group opted to organize a protest for Saturday to align with the other protests against the administration taking place all over the country, Jerry said.

“I hope that we can eventually get Congress to take some actions to get Trump out of office,” he said.

Long before March 11, though, this block of Main Street was home to demonstrations: For 18 years, the Freeport Flag Ladies gathered along the same stretch of road to show support for American troops and remember 9/11.

Anti-Trump protesters stand along both sides of Main Street in Freeport on Saturday morning. Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald

So the location for the new protests in Freeport isn’t a coincidence.

“That was their patriotism. Well, this is our patriotism,” explained David Suchoff, 67. “If you live in Freeport, you know how significant this is — we’re on their corner.”

Suchoff said he has been attending the protests at the corner for nearly a month. The first week he came, he said, there were about eight people. The next week, there were 16, he estimated, then about 40 a week after that.

He hopes it will send a message, not just to the Trump administration but also to Maine’s congressional delegation.

On Saturday, he held a sign that read, “Susan Collins loves Measles” — a reference to the senator’s recent vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been criticized for spreading false information about vaccines, as head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“I never thought I’d see the day that Sen. Collins from Maine confirms somebody who doesn’t believe in vaccinating kids for measles,” Suchoff said. “It’s a shame to our state.”

—Grace Benninghoff, Portland Press Herald

10 a.m.: Crowd lines street near Oxford Hills school

SOUTH PARIS — Dozens of anti-Trump protesters gathered Saturday morning near Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, bundled up against the cold while carrying signs and waving at passing cars.

—Andree Kehn, Sun Journal

9:30 a.m.: Freeport protest stretches down Main Street

FREEPORT — By 9:30 a.m., the crowd at the protest along Main Street in Freeport was beginning to stretch farther down the block.

Liz Gardner and her 16-year-old daughter, Ava, said they planned to spend the entire day protesting. They live in Freeport and so started their day on Main Street but planned to head to Augusta for the afternoon gathering there.

Liz Gardner, 50, said she felt it was time to act when the Trump administration began defying the orders of federal judges.

“Regardless of who you are, you shouldn’t be defying federal authority,” she said.

She added that she’s concerned about climate change, education, transgender rights, veterans and national security.

“I’m not going to have my kids see us do nothing. I have two children who are going to live in this world, and this is a bridge too far,” she said.

Ava, 16, said she was glad to be taking action too.

“It feels kind of necessary. I think a lot of people don’t come (to protests) because there’s some embarrassment. Teenagers can be aggressive,” she said. “It’s easy to not do anything when you’re upset, but it will just become harder if nobody does anything.”

Liz Gardner, left, and her 16-year-old daughter, Ava Gardner, both of Freeport, protest against the Trump administration Saturday morning along Main Street in Freeport. Daryn Slover/Portland Press Herald

Ava added that she is worried most about the Trump administration’s rolling back of climate protections and attacks on immigrants and transgender people.

“I’m terrified. I’m have to grow up in this world,” she said.

As protesters continued to gather, some gripped coffee mugs as they arrived with signs, while others were handed premade signs by organizers as they arrived.

Two kids embraced as they stood at the roadside. “Thanks Trump you turned me into an activist,” read one sign held by a child.

—Grace Benninghoff, Portland Press Herald

8:45 a.m.: Capitol Police set up perimeter for Augusta protest

AUGUSTA — By Saturday morning, green wooden sawhorses had been set up to block driveways leading to the parking lot and plaza between Cross State Office Building and Maine State House, where a protest was scheduled to start at noon.

Several small parking areas near the State House had also been blocked off, and a white Capitol Police cruiser was parked nearby.

— Joe Phelan, Kennebec Journal

8:30 a.m.: Dozens gather in Freeport for protest

FREEPORT — On Saturday morning, about a hundred people gathered along Main Street in Freeport to protest the Trump administration.

They held signs that read things like “Hands off America, Trump,” “Stop the Coup” and “Democracy not Monarchy.” Many cars honked, their drivers waving in support, as they drove past the protest.

Some protesters had dogs with them; others had children. The mood was jovial and upbeat: People hugged, laughed and grinned when cars honked.

One man waved a Ukrainian flag, while another held an American flag upside-down — historically a symbol of distress.

— Grace Benninghoff, Portland Press Herald

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the length of the Portland protest.