Standing Saturday on Broadway in Everett, where crowds of people on either side waved signs opposed to President Donald Trump as nonstop car honking urged protesters on, it was possible to feel that a groundswell against the federal administration was underway.
That was precisely the point for many who came to a "Hands Off!" rally stretching for more than 2 miles.
Sarah Brenner, 37, a stay-at-home mom from Snohomish, said Trump administration officials "want us to feel alone. They want us to feel isolated." Large rallies like this, she said, "show everyone else who might be feeling alone that there are people who feel the same as them and are feeling brave enough to speak out."
Trump's popularity is a moving target, with many of the latest polls showing less of an uprising than slightly mounting disapproval. But fierce critics of his administration were out in force Saturday as they attempted to build momentum with ongoing demonstrations that have already spanned months.
The Everett rally, organized by the Snohomish County chapter of the activist group Indivisible, was part of a national day of protests across the country. In Washington, more than 30 events were planned, including in Seattle, Kirkland, Port Townsend and Bellingham.
"As the cuts dig deeper, we're just getting louder," said Naomi Dietrich, founder of Snohomish County's Indivisible, referring to the Trump administration's slashing of funding for education, science, veteran services and more.
Dietrich said she hopes the continuing demonstrations will show Congress members there's support for fighting the administration. To that end, she said she was trying to encourage people to stop sitting at home worrying about what could happen due to executive orders that might never come to pass. Instead, she wanted people to get out and "get busy" expressing their views.
Everett's rally, beginning at noon, drew at least hundreds. Indivisible's estimate "easily" came in at over 2,000 protesters, the Snohomish County group's co-leader Paula Townsell said. The sun came out, adding to an upbeat atmosphere despite the anger on display in signs bearing slogans like "Defend Democracy," "Congress is Complicit" and "Send Trump, Our Homegrown Criminal to El Salvador."
John Ervin, an electrical lineworker and Mill Creek resident, said his 83-year-old mother made the latter sign, which alluded to more than 200 immigrants the Trump administration has accused, without proof, of being gang members and summarily deported to El Salvador.
Erwin came to the rally not only with his mom but with his 16-year-old son, who Erwin said would "grow up in a world where democracy is crushed if he (Trump) stays in office."
Could Trump be pushed out? Aurel Aquino, a semiretired business consultant, also from Mill Creek, seemed to think so. He immigrated from the Philippines, where as a teenager he experienced martial law under then-President Ferdinand Marcos. A dozen or so years later, Marcos was deposed in a so-called "People Power Revolution."
If it could happen to Marcos, it could happen to Trump, said Aquino. He held a sign, loosely quoting U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, the New Jersey Democrat. "People power is greater than people in power," the sign read.
Christina Compy, an IT professional living near Lake Stevens, saw a hopeful sign in the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling early Saturday that temporarily blocked the administration's attempt to use an 18th-century wartime law to deport more immigrants it accuses of being gang members.
Yet, even some people in power are intimidated, Snohomish's Brenner noted. She pointed to a recent remark by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican who has criticized Trump, that "we are all afraid" of retaliation.
"That was pretty chilling to hear her say that," Brenner said.
Meanwhile on Saturday, a demonstration on Seattle's Broadway blocked lanes in both directions near Pine Street around 1 p.m.
Earlier in the day, at least 30 protesters gathered at the Interstate 5 overpass at Northeast 50th Street in Seattle's University District.
#AlphabetResistance, a Seattle-based anti-Trump group, led the rally. Protesters held signs facing the interstate, each with a different letter on both sides. The signs spelled out messages when put together.
"Resist authoritarian purge," one message read.
"UW be bold, fight like Harvard," urged another, a reference to the ongoing battle between the Trump administration and Harvard. The federal government, accusing the university of failing to combat campus antisemitism, froze $2.2 billion of funding and threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status if it didn't accept the administration's demands. Harvard refused.
Chris Kneser, co-organizer at #AlphabetResistance, instructed protesters to flip their signs every few seconds.
"It's awful to sit at home and hear what's happening and want to do something and you just don't know what you can do," Kneser said. This was his way of taking action.
Marcia McKenney, 75, a recent retiree, said she worries about Trump messing with Social Security and Medicare.
"I try not to listen to too much of it because it makes me crazy," she said.
On Whidbey Island, someone fired gunshots at a home next door to a large protest at a park and ride along Highway 525 near Bayview, causing tension and fear among the crowd. The Island County sheriff's office said in a Facebook post that it found a man who lived nearby was shooting in his backyard.
The man was legally allowed to do so and caused no injuries or property damage, according to the post.
Still, protester Mike Lopuszynski, hearing five to eight rapid shots, was spooked.
He couldn't tell where the shots were coming from.
"It was a little scary," he said, but it also made him want to protest even louder.
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