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It's been over a year since an anonymous protest group — dressed head-to-toe in red cloaks — made their first appearance at a Fourth of July parade in Norfolk, Nebraska. The group has since shown up at town halls, state offices and other political demonstrations across the state.
At these events, members don't say a word. They don't chant. They don't speak. But the group agreed to break that silence for an interview with Nebraska Public Media News.
The grassroots demonstrators call themselves the Handmaids of Nebraska — taking inspiration from Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," donning the same uniform that was given to women who were forced into reproductive servitude.
According to the novel, those women were stripped of their own identity and given a name based on the official they served — a prefix of 'Of' followed by his first name. The handmaids have often linked themselves to Nebraska's politicians.
One member of the group spoke with Nebraska Public Media News on the condition that her identity remain concealed.
"Being anonymous provides, like, a form of protection," she said. "We live in a rural area, and a lot of us do. So doing something like this and showing your face — there could be consequences in the lives of people for that."
That protection is one reason for the uniform, the woman said, but it serves other purposes too — namely, sending a message most people can understand without much explanation.
"The outfit itself is a very symbolic message," she said. "People, even if they haven't seen the show or read the book, they have an idea of what it's about. They know there's some oppression of women in it, and for the most part, it kind of freaks people out a little bit — which is something I didn't expect when we started this."
The idea for the group traces back to a No Kings protest in Norfolk in mid-June 2025, when a woman showed up dressed as a handmaid. Inspired, the rest of the group followed her lead a few weeks later.
"Norfolk is a pretty conservative area, so it was nerve-wracking," she said. "We didn't know what to expect."
Even in Nebraska's more conservative communities, the woman said the group has found supporters — mostly women who've reached out to voice their encouragement.
"We've gotten a lot of support from people, mostly women of all ages, young or older," she said. "The positive comments are often like, 'you give us hope.'"
Some national groups with similar aims tend to narrow their focus on bodily autonomy and reproductive rights. The group member said the Handmaids of Nebraska see their mission as broader than that.
"We care about all our marginalized communities here in Nebraska. And that's not just women," she said. "It's all sorts of people. The actions our government is taking right now — it's impacting all sorts of marginalized groups. And I think it's important to bring attention to those groups, because when we wear those outfits and our picture gets clipped in an article, people just have something to say… at least they're looking at it and hopefully they're reading the article behind it."
Even with a more-encompassing message, the handmaid said that not everyone has received it well — often reminding the group why they stay anonymous.
"We've gotten, you know, indirect threats online mainly," she said. "But every time we show up for a different event, cars will drive by slowly. Sometimes they'll come back around, drive by three or four times slowly, or they'll follow us on foot… So we have plans in place."
Nebraska Public Media News recently accompanied the group to a private gathering near McCook. Partway through the demonstration, members quickly loaded into a van and left the area after spotting a man they identified as personnel from the nearby detention facility.
She said that kind of quick exit isn't unusual.
"It happens most of the time," she said. "If we're doing some of our other things… it's get out, move on. The quicker the better, sometimes."
Nebraska values
The group hasn't only drawn criticism from the public. Some of Nebraska's own lawmakers have also made their positions on the group known.
Congressman Mike Flood has called out the group by name, saying it doesn't represent Nebraska values. The group member pushed back on this characterization directly.
"You're sitting up there in Congress letting these ICE officers march around on the streets, rip people from their families off the streets, put them in detention centers, fully masked," she said. "Nobody knows who they are, and they're carrying weapons that can kill you. Somehow that's okay? That represents Nebraska's values?"
Gov. Jim Pillen has also called the handmaids out. During a January tele-town hall, framing the moment around what he called Nebraska's values of "faith, family, the culture of love and life," Pillen referred to the group as "libtards."
"We had some demonstrators in one of our places today that wear the red thing… the libtards have lost their brains," Pillen said on the January tele-town hall.
The woman said she was listening to the town hall live and that Pillen's comments were shocking.
"He did not just go there. Like, you're our governor. Like, what?" she said. "And then he doubled and tripled down by using the word two, three times more. I was just like, ‘who are you?’ I don't want this person representing me or my citizens or my constituents of my state. It was embarrassing. Like, you're an adult, like, grow up."
When asked what she thought Nebraska values were, The handmaid described her own neighborhood.
"Well, to me, Nebraska values are being there for your community… And one thing I love about this place is I know all my neighbors, and we look out for our neighbors. …It's just how it works here, and it's really awesome," she said. "And I know the political ideologies of my neighbors does not align with me, but we're still all neighbors — and I think we're forgetting that in today's world. And I think we need to remember that."
Ultimately, the woman said the group wants people to get involved — in whatever way makes sense for them.
"Just get involved," she said. "There's a million things you can get involved with. It doesn't have to be what we're doing. Help out [at] a field trip at school, do something for your neighbor and have a conversation with them and see what their concerns about the world going on is. Maybe give them some information that they didn't have, or let them bring attention to a topic they might not know about.”