Hundreds of protesters lined the sidewalks outside Rep. Andy Harris’ (R-Maryland) Bel Air office on Saturday, International Women’s Day.
Harris, who is Maryland’s only Republican representative in Congress and was elected chair of the House Freedom Caucus in September 2024, is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump’s administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by billionaire Elon Musk. Harris is also a member of the GOP Doctors Caucus, the Pro-Life Caucus, and Values Action Team Caucus, among others.
Henry Gibbons, chair of the Harford County Democratic Central Committee, told Baltimore Fishbowl he planned to organize a protest outside Harris’ district office in Bel Air for March 8, but learned that the Women’s March was already planning to protest at Harris’ office that day. Gibbons contacted Ashlyn Hinzman, volunteer with the Women’s March, to see if they could join forces.
Agreeing to work together, a total of four groups joined to protest across the street from Harris’ office: Harford County Democrats; Women’s March; Together, We Will; and Harford County Indivisible chapters. Hinzman told Baltimore Fishbowl that the four became a unit of sorts, and by working together, were able to have the turnout they did.
The purpose of the rally was to oppose everything the current administration has done and continues to try to dismantle. The sign-up page suggests bringing signs supporting reproductive rights, transgender rights, immigrant rights, abolishing ICE, opposing DOGE, standing with federal workers, supporting the Department of Education, saving Medicaid and Medicare, and more.
“We’ve kind of shifted from trying to do everything federal to really focusing on local and making change from there, and right now, Representative Harris is our main focus,” Hinzman said. “He has made it very clear in correspondence with all of us at this point, all of those of us who have called him and emailed him, that he has agreed with everything that Trump and Musk have come up with and plan to do, and that is not what we believe is best for Maryland.”
Gibbons considers the rally a success, noting their goal was first and foremost to support the International Women’s Day Rally. Secondly, though, the Harford County Democrats wanted to show the residents of Harford County that they are not alone.
“There are a lot of Democrats in Harford County who think that there are no other Democrats in Harford County, even though we have 67,000 registered Democrats in the county,” Gibbons said. “And so, a part of this is really to sort of build that community like that, and show that we’re here and we’re a presence.”
He said there were a lot of passers-by honking their horns and yelling from their cars in support. Gibbons described the engagement as “overwhelmingly positive.”
While there was no organized counterprotest, a few people walked down the middle of the street impeding traffic, according to widely circulated video on social media. They shouted at the protesters, and two of them repeatedly made Nazi salutes, adopting the trend of extremists attempting to make the Nazi salute mainstream.
Hinzman says the four groups will work together again and they are having a Zoom meeting this week about their next moves. She says there will be another protest in March, and another in early April, both in front of Harris’ Bel Air district office.
Harris has not responded to Baltimore Fishbowl’s request for comment.
