Hundreds of Kentuckians rallied in front of the Lexington courthouse Saturday to protest policies from the Trump administration.
Hands Off Lexington was one of more than 1,000 such protests nationwide that took place on Saturday. Those attending protested against federal workforce layoffs, Social Security cuts and hostile policies towards immigrants and transgender people.
Harry Neack is one of the event’s organizers and works with Bluegrass Activist Alliance. He says the event covered a wide range of policies.
“The sciences are under attack, the CDC, the NIH, those things are being shut down or impeded,” Neck said. “Education is being impeded or shut down entirely. Those are very important issues to us all… I saw somebody with a sign that said, ‘Too many issues, not enough cardboard.’”
Sarah Fightmaster Bayerle is the President of the state’s American Federation of Teachers union, which also helped organize the rally. She says she’s concerned about federal cuts to education.
“There are so many things at risk here, special education services, arts and music classes. You know, the loss of teacher jobs, we're already over capacity in our schools, so to lose positions is going to have a devastating effect on those kids, the kids that I see every day, and the kids who need us the most,” Bayerle said.
James Woodhead is also a teacher and spoke at the rally. He’s most concerned with cuts to funding that help low-income students.
“We're looking at over $8 billion potentially in cuts to IDEA and to special education, billions of dollars in cuts to Title I funding,” Woodhead said. “I work at a Title I school and as a special education teacher, so my job will be impacted. My students could be impacted by this.”
Many at the rally attended with their family or friends. Organizers estimated about 1,500 people showed up downtown. Sadie Collins was one of those people.
“I lost my grandmother last year, and she and my mom were able to do the women's march in the same courtyard, and I wasn't able to be part of that,” Collins said. “So part of it is spending time with my mom and doing things I believe in.”
Gaby Baker was part of a group of friends who attended the rally. They were mostly concerned about the rights of women and transgender people.
“I care specifically about trans kids in a lot of states that are not getting the care that they need and are being denied by the government the right to have control over their own body,” Baker said. “I'm not talking about, like, kids getting surgeries, but even adults are being denied the right to choose their medical treatment. And I hate that.”
Some, like Jay Kincaid, pointed towards Trump’s economic policies, like the imposition of worldwide tariffs.
“There's no good outcome from these tariffs at all, and a lot of people are going to get hurt by it,” Kincaid said. “And all of those people that are going to get hurt, the safety nets of various kinds that they've had for them are now being yanked away.”
Others, like Emily Clark, were out to protest overreach from the executive branch, and cuts from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
“I feel like Elon Musk had taken a chainsaw and just slashed everything without thought and without thinking of the consequences or the impact it will have on people's lives. They're cutting, cutting, cutting,” Clark said.
Brady Blanton says he’s concerned those cuts could affect the quality of life for future generations.
“My grandkids, and my great grandkids, my great-great grandkids, should be able to worry about their future, and retire into their 60s and live a comfortable and fulfilling life,” Blanton said.
Organizers say other such events in other Kentucky cities were scheduled for Saturday but were called off because of weather concerns. They plan to hold rescheduled rallies next weekend.
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