by Kate Shunney
Berkeley Springs was one of more than 1,300 towns and cities that saw a turnout on April 5 of Americans broadcasting the message that they want the Trump administration and advisor Elon Musk to keep their “Hands Off” social programs, government agencies, federal research, legal protections, constitutional rights and personal data.
According to several legacy media reports, somewhere between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 people attended rallies and protests across the United States and overseas on Saturday.
In Berkeley Springs nearly 100 people held mostly hand-made signs in front of the Morgan County Courthouse for two hours on Saturday afternoon and waved to heavy weekend traffic on U.S. 522 through town.
The local event was organized by Morgan County Indivisible, a non-partisan community action coalition that has re-organized in the second Trump administration. Events were also held in Martinsburg and nearby cities.
Sign messages included “Hands off our Essential Services” and “Hands off our Social Security.” Plus “Support Vets and the VA” and “Support Veterans Services.”
Other signs said, “Democracy not Oligarchy” and “Vaccines save lives. Fund the NIH.”
Brenda Hutchison of Great Cacapon held a sign saying, “Hands off Social Security” and stood along the curb in Saturday’s sunny weather.
Asked why she had come to Saturday’s rally, she said, “Because we think the country is going to hell in a handbasket.”
She said signs had gotten mostly a positive response by passersby.
Amy Shaeffer, a registered nurse, said she had come with her “Hands off Medicaid” because of her concerns about cuts to the low-income medical program. A lifelong West Virginian and worker in healthcare, Shaeffer said she is very worried about the elderly not being able to be placed in nursing homes if Medicaid is cut, and the ability of critical access hospitals to stay open without Medicaid support.
Shaeffer explained that Medicaid patient payments help subsidize the operations of rural hospitals, which cannot survive on payments from private insurance patients.
“We’re in trouble when we lose those,” she said.
Linda Ramsdell said she had come to rally “to make a visual statement there are people who do not agree with this administration,” she said. Ramsdell said she didn’t just have one area of concern. “There’s too many issues,” she said.
photo by Kevin Wurster
Josh Nuckolls of Berkeley Springs just filed to run for the West Virginia House of Delegates, he said.
“If we can’t stop things at the federal level, we have to concentrate on our state representatives,” he said.
Nuckolls said his main area of concern is the loss of programs that help people.
“People have gotten lost for political egos and aspirations,” he said. “If we lose it all, we never get it back.”
Dina Coe, holding a “Cuts Kill People” sign, said one of her biggest issues is recent attacks on the press and the effects of propaganda on people’s understanding of the truth. She said she has seen the effects of it in this community.
Greg Magrath, holding a “Support Vets and the VA” sign, said his top issue is America’s standing in the world as tariffs take hold, international aid ends and diplomacy changes under this administration.
“My main concern is our allies. We’re making them enemies,” he said.
