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Hundreds of protesters marched the streets of Portland Thursday afternoon, the crowd growing along the way in a May Day demonstration against the Trump administration.

Even before the main crowd reached Congress Square, more than 100 people filled the pavilion in front of the Portland Museum of Art, awaiting an evening rally.

There, a woman played “This Land is Your Land” on the accordion, the song’s warm, nasally tones blending with the honk-honk-honk of passing vehicles, including a UPS truck and a city bus.

One man yelled expletives and held his middle finger out the window of his pickup truck.

By 6 p.m., the crowd had blocked Congress Street with protesters holding a sign that said, “Hammer time for Palestine.”

Other signs in the crowd reflected a wide range of issues, from billionaire Elon Musk’s role in the White House to Congress’ inaction against the Trump administration, a rise in bigotry and hostility toward marginalized groups, the ongoing war in Gaza, government job and research funding cuts, and the importance of adhering to the rule of law.

‘I’M HERE FOR THEM’

Lucy Sinclair, who lives in Portland’s East End, said it was hard to pick a most urgent issue, but she is particularly concerned with deportations and an overall crackdown on immigration.

“My mom is an immigrant, she was a refugee. She’s an immigration lawyer and has worked with refugees for many years,” Sinclair, 26, said as she wiped wetness from her eyes.

Sinclair said she has friends who are immigrants, who wished they could join the protest but felt doing so might make them targets of the federal government.

“I’m here for them,” she said.

As the crowd continued to grow around 6 p.m., Sinclair said the number of attendees was comforting, as it had been at earlier and smaller protests.

“Walking up, it’s a good reminder that there are a lot of people that care about the same issues,” she said.

About an hour earlier, Josh Morton, 79, stood near the intersection of Congress and High streets, where he held a sign bearing the words “Workers fight fascism” and a union insignia for passing cars. In his other hand he held his dog, Boo’s, leash. Boo wore a sign declaring “Trump bites” and “Musk sux” on its two sides.

Morton, of Boothbay Harbor, said Thursday that this was his third protest in recent weeks.

“I’ve come out to everyone I can get to every weekend. Because if it doesn’t happen now, it won’t,” he said. “I’m a union man. That’s the whole deal. May Day has always been a union holiday.”

He noted the Trump administration’s attempts to limit union protections, including by preventing federal workers from unionizing.

Thursday’s was the latest in a steady stream of protests — in Maine and nationally — against the Trump administration.

The protest, one of several that took place throughout Maine, also marked May Day, which commemorates the historic triumphs and trials of the labor movement internationally.

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered for demonstrations across the globe to mark International Workers’ Day. Though the day is international in its scope, President Donald Trump and his policies appeared to be a central source of anger throughout the world. In France, union leaders condemned what they called the “Trumpization” of global affairs, while others carried a puppet of Trump through the streets of Italy.

In Portland, the crowd initially grouped on the University of Southern Maine’s Portland campus at 4 p.m., before snaking its way to the Portland Museum of Art ahead of the rally across the street, which began after 6 p.m.

In Augusta, a crowd of more than 200 gathered outside the State House. That afternoon demonstration featured cheering, singing and at least one horn player.

LAW DAY

Earlier Thursday, lawyers and members of the State Bar Association gathered in Lincoln Park to mark national Law Day, also on May 1, where they held up their hands and renewed their oaths to the rule of law, organizers said in a written release.

More than 630 Maine lawyers from at least 100 law firms signed a declaration committing themselves to the legal system. The declaration follows the Trump administration’s targeting of law firms that had represented his political opponents.

“We call upon all branches of government to support the rule of law and the essential role of lawyers in our democracy, and to reject any efforts to use the tremendous power of the government against members of the legal profession for performing their duty,” they said in the declaration. “We further call upon our fellow members of the legal profession as well as members of the public at large to reject any attempt to harass or intimidate our country’s lawyers and judges for simply doing their jobs.”

Attorney General Aaron Frey, who is waging several legal battles against the Trump administration on behalf of Maine, spoke at the group’s midday rally. He called lawyers the “protectors of democracy,” according to a separate written release.

“We will not be intimidated into ignoring our oaths, and we will and must continue to fight for the rule of law and protect the rights of individuals against the abusive use of executive power,” Frey said.

Morning Sentinel Photographer Anna Chadwick contributed from Augusta. This report contains material from The Associated Press.