Hands Off Rally April 5 2025

A throng of St. George residents gathered at Vernon Worthen Park Saturday            afternoon to collectively shout, “Hands off!”

Sign-carrying, dog-walking, chanting protesters marched and encouraged each  other in solidarity. Numerous people driving by honked their car horns in                   support.

 “It was a little frightening when I started to realize how many people were                  coming,” organizer Dr. Jo Campbell told St. George News, adding that she was     

told the count was over 700 people.

St. George resident Chad Spann stood along the parade route with his dog and cheered the protesters as they walked by.

“I’m really surprised because whenever I’m out in town, I feel scared to even speak my mind a lot of times,” Spann said. “I know that we have to come together on certain things, but there’s a lot of animosity created by this administration against us.”

He added that in his opinion, President Trump’s rhetoric and policies pit American citizens against themselves, leading to a stifling of free speech.

“And what I love about this is it lets me know that there’s other people out there and we have solidarity,” Spann said. “Our voice is heard out here, and it’s felt, there’s power in these numbers. I love seeing that in my community.”

The main body of protestors met in the southwest corner of the park, where they congregated for speeches and sign making before the festivities began.

Then around 2 p.m. they marched, chanting, “Hands off!” and toting their signs in a line with enough people to completely encircle Vernon Worthen Park.

Chuck Goode, chairman of the Washington County Democratic Party, carries an American flag at a Hands Off protest at Vernon Worthen Park, St. George, Utah, April 5, 2025.

Chuck Goode, chairman of the Democratic Party in Washington County, was at the head of the line, carrying an American flag.

He said it was heartwarming to see the huge turnout, noting that it ended up being six to eight times more people than organizers expected.

“It just shows what the sentiment is like. I think the country is kind of figuring out what’s going on, and there’s about to be a big flip,” Goode said. “It’s got to come home to people that we need to take back our democracy. We know we’re not obeying the Constitution.”

“So this is why we’re saying ‘Hands off!’” he added. “Hands off of all of the rights that are being taken away.”

Goode mentioned several times that the protestors at the park were not all Democrats.

“It is not really about party,” Goode said. “We sponsored this because we’re so diverse. We don’t want to lose the equity, the inclusiveness or the diversity. We welcome it.”

“We don’t all agree but we do all have the same goals, and we have the same patriotism,” he added. “And we all love this country.”

by E. George Goold, St. George News