The nationwide #HandsOff protests took the country by storm over the weekend, with protests ranging from small and bespoke to humungous and rowdy. Just about every state and major city was full of people showing up to protest Doge, and the state of Trump’s America in the short months he has taken office. In Saint Paul, a group of Republican anti-protestors showed up to demonstrate, but a loud band had other ideas.
In a short video posted on the R/Minnesota page by a user named Lotech, a protest can be seen in the footage. A handful of anti-protestors are lined up outside of a building, with police near them to make sure there isn’t anything hostile or violent. As the Republican ‘bigot brigade’ as the Reddit thread called them, protested in relative peace, a big marching band showed up and started loudly playing in front of them. The music continued until the anti-protestors decided to leave the area, while the band played nana goodbye, which is quite disrespectful. Many folks who attended the protest showed up in the comments to talk about what went down.
My favorite part was when they were so drowned out , they finally gave up & left with the band following them singing “nana hey goodbye”. The cops followed them & it’s amazing no one was hit by the light rail & I’m so glad someone had a megaphone to cancel or theirs. They were at the wrong protest & for people saying they had the right to protest, sure, but we also had the right to have the protection of the cops & we didn’t. It was also sad that it was only men & they had brought at least one preteen with them.
More folks then commented on it.
“Small groups of counter protestors usually get law enforcement near them regardless what their views are, it’s safer all around with that. So that way neither side gets attacked by the other in case a fight breaks out. That said, it is pretty hilarious that the band followed them!”
“This is Minnesotan AF and I love it.”
“Well that worked great! By the time I go there a little after 12:30, there was just a big dance party in front of the band, and I didn’t even see the counter protest at all.”
“You can see the signs slightly better toward the end of the video. At one point in my life, I had acquaintances that are part of the bigot brigade and I can easily recognize their signs.”
Minnesota is no stranger to political action. ICE has shown up and started grabbing innocent roofers, sweeping state legislation has commented on trans laws, and much more is still happening in light of recent government action. Only time will tell what will come of all the protests.
