REGION — Pent-up frustration boiled over in Hampshire County on Saturday, where some 5,000 people in as many as six communities eschewed a bitter rain to send a message to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk: stop pursuing cruel policies that attack American rights and freedoms.

The “Hands Off!” rallies, part of a national movement that took place from Boston to Alaska, featured some 600 people in the hilltown community of Williamsburg to downtown Northampton where two back-to-back rallies drew more than 1,000. In addition, standouts were featured in Easthampton, Amherst and South Hadley, which each drew crowds of 1,000. Another rally in Granby attracted 275 people.

“Clearly, many residents are not only angry and concerned, but activated,” said state Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, who organized a rally in her community that more than 1,000 people attended. “We all need to know we’re not alone in this endeavor and that we have the power of our voice, our ability to speak out, and protest peacefully.”

South Hadley was “a mob scene — it was great,” said U.S. Rep. Richie Neal, who spoke to the crowd gathered at the town’s village commons across from Mount Holyoke College. Neal said the unelected Musk needs to keep his hands off Social Security, veterans welfare and Medicaid. He also decried “the cruelty of Trump’s handing of layoffs” since his January inauguration — another of the countless things rallygoers urge Trump and his team keep their hands off.

“Callous” is how Neal described the behavior of the current administration in their handling of cuts to governmental budgets. The congressman said he will bottle the energy from Saturday and take it back to Washington in the coming weeks as he fights against Republican budget cuts.

Meanwhile in Easthampton, Mayor Nicole LaChapelle was joined by state Rep. Homar Gomez, D-Easthampton, were between 500 and 1,000 people framed the rotary downtown, said Carolyn Cushing, formerly the city’s poet laureate and one of the rally’s dozen organizers.

Cushing said participants decried “the whole range” of Trump’s actions. Among other issues, signs called for Trump to keep his hands off humanities and the arts, and some signs were waved in support of student activists who have been slated to be deported in the past week or more. “There were also kids there with their little drawn signs,” she said.

Those present stood not only against the actions of the Trump administration, but for the values of, “democracy, justice, and the rule of law,” she shared.

The response was overwhelmingly positive. Of attendees, 179 responded to a post-rally survey, with 99% of responses positive, said Cushing.

“People are hungry. They want this action. They want to be plugged in,” she said.

In Amherst earlier that morning, the rally organized by Domb featured Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan and former state Rep. Ellen Story.

Following the rally, Domb said “It really seemed to multigenerational with many families with kids, young adults.”

In response to a post-rally survey, Domb said people described the event as heartwarming, motivating and needed.

As for Jean O’Neil, who organized Williamsburg’s rally for Indivisible Williamsburg, said she was trying to “hold back shouting” her enthusiasm as she spoke in a phone interview Monday. Last week she projected maybe 50 would fill the front lawn of the town’s offices, but the turnout was 11 times that number despite the cold rain. She said the size of the crowd was notable, in addition to how peaceful the protests remained not only locally, but throughout the country.

She noted that only one interaction flared up with a passerby on the sidewalk that was soon put down, similar to in Easthampton where there was a single Trump supporter with a flag, but no violence ensued.

Instead, O’Neil said people “talked with each other, waved their banners, and laughed at each other’s signs.” She said the entire event turned out to be a moment of “community building.”

O’Neil’s sign told Trump to keep his hands off science in response to research cuts to the National Institutes of Health.

Other signs in Williamsburg, as elsewhere, spoke against cutting funding for libraries, and some that called for the government to respect reproductive rights.

The demonstration, she said, goes to show that “there are unhappy people,” and calls on both community members and government officials to have “empathy.”

Without a doubt, she said, there is more rallying to come: “I don’t think the problem is going away quickly,” she said.

Paradise City was outside almost the entire day, starting with a morning rally that saw more than a thousand pack in front of the courthouse, followed by a rally in front of City Hall that saw 125 participants.

Sarah Buttenwieser was among the rallygoers in the morning at the courthouse, and said the size of the gathering showed that “the tentacles of the Trump administration are everywhere,” even outside D.C. And since these rallies were planned so suddenly, she said, it speaks to how people are, “really moving, they really care,” she said.

Jennifer Scarlott, who organized the afternoon rally with Demilitarize Western Massachusetts, had a slightly different take on the situation. She asked rhetorically where all these protesters were during the Biden years.

For example, she said, back in the days when Israel began attacking Gaza, there were nowhere near these numbers protesting — a sign that the Democratic Party hadn’t been doing enough, in her estimation.

“There’s a reason we ended up with Donald Trump for two terms,” she said, noting that progressive activists need to stay busy even when Democrats are in power.

Trump, for his part, spent the weekend outside of D.C. where throngs were also rallying. He passed his time playing golf, and has yet to directly react to the protests. However, he posted to Truth Social Monday morning telling Americans to toughen up with regard to tariffs he imposed last Wednesday in what he called “Liberation Day.”

In a post, he said, “Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!).”

The post continued, “Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!”

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com.