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Some Burke County residents plan to protest cuts to federal programs on Saturday in downtown Â鶹´«Ã½.
As President Donald Trump and his senior adviser, Elon Musk, make cuts to federal government programs, rallies are expected to take place across the nation on Saturday to tell them “Hands Off!â€
“Hands Off!†rallies are planned in Morganton, Hickory and across the country.
The online posts for the Burke County event on says, “They’re taking everything they can get their hands on — our health care, our data, our jobs, our services — and daring the world to stop them. This is a crisis, and the time to act is now.â€
The Â鶹´«Ã½ rally will be from noon to 2 p.m. on the Old Burke County Courthouse square in downtown Â鶹´«Ã½.
Gena Singleton, chair of the Burke County Democratic Party, said the event in Â鶹´«Ã½ is sponsored by Burke Indivisible and the party.
She said people will rally around the courthouse to bring more public awareness “to let folks know that there are a lot of things like Social Security and Medicaid and Medicare that are all kind of on the chopping block. To let folks know that their way of life may be changing.â€
Singleton said there may be some speakers at the rally.
The event description said the core principle behind “Hands Off!†is nonviolent action. Participants are expected to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with the rally.
The Hickory rally will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at St. Andrews Lutheran Church, located at 629 8th St. NE, Hickory.
Other rally locations in the area on Saturday include Boone, Asheville, Charlotte, Forest City, Shelby and Burnsville.
