Protesters Rally in Dozens of Cities to Call for Trump’s Impeachment
byTim StellohandDaniella Silva
People gathered in cities across the United
States on Sunday, two days before Independence Day, to call on Congress
to impeach President Donald Trump.
In Los Angeles, they carried a black coffin
draped in red, white and blue flowers, topped with a hand-written sign:
"The Presidency 1789-2017."
In Austin, Texas, they marched from the state
Capitol to City Hall, tussling with counter-protesters along the way,
and in downtown San Francisco, a chant made their goal plain: "What do
we want? Impeachment! When do we want it? Now!"
Kyle
Chapman is held back by fellow Trump supporters from confronting Trump
protester Nevin Kamath, far left, at an impeachment march Sunday at the
state Capitol in Austin, Texas. Jay Janner / Austin American-Statesman via AP
As in many other cities, protesters were greeted by supporters of the president in Austin.
"There's no reason at this point to impeach
the president. He's committed no crimes. There's no reason," Jake Lloyd,
who backs the president, told NBC station KXAN. "I don't think they understand what impeachment is."
The "impeachment marches" added to the fledgling effort among lawmakers who have invoked the "I" word. Among them is Rep. Al Green,
D-Texas, who first called for Trump's impeachment for obstruction of
justice on the House floor on May 17 and who repeated his call to
hundreds of protesters Sunday in Austin.
"I am here today because I love my country,"
Green said before leading the Pledge of Allegiance and singing "God
Bless America."
"We cannot let others steal the notion that
somehow they're more patriotic than we are," Green said. "We are
patriotic Americans."
In San Francisco, scores of protesters
assembled near the Embarcadero and marched through the city chanting and
waving signs — "Lock him up" among them.
Protesters rally outside a Trump hotel to call for the impeachment of President Donald Trump in New York on Sunday. Bebeto Matthews / AP
"Every single thing that comes out of this
president's mouth, and every action he takes, is contrary to what I
believe, and frankly I've had enough," one of the protesters, Mark
Ransdell, told NBC Bay Area.
DC Scarpelli, an actor and activist, described
the protest's goals this way to the station: "Resist loud, so loud that
we won't even hear the door slam when he's dragged out of office."
A similar scene played out 400 miles south, in
Los Angeles, where thousands of demonstrators were joined by Rep. Brad
Sherman, D-California, NBC Los Angeles reported. Like Green, Sherman wants to boot Trump from office over alleged obstruction, and last month, he drafted and circulated an article of impeachment to other House members saying so.
"Every day, Democrats, Republicans, the entire
world is shocked by the latest example of America's amateur president,"
Sherman said Sunday.
In New York City, protesters gathered outside a
Trump hotel, where the now-familiar scene of dueling protests erupted
in a shouting match, according to an Associated Press reporter.
In Philadelphia, there wasn't a shouting match
but, instead, a fight: Two anti-Trump protesters were arrested after a
supporter of the president was attacked outside a downtown bar, NBC Philadelphia reported.
A police officer was injured, the station reported, and a third person
was issued a citation. The charges weren't immediately clear.
It wasn't just the big cities that drew crowds, either.
From Davenport, Iowa, protesters marched across the Centennial Bridge to Schweibert Park in Rock Island, Illinois.
"It's interesting that this is going on during
the Fourth of July weekend, and I hope as we reflect on how great this
country is we can also reflect on how important it is to put country
over party," Dan Morris, of the Illinois activist group Rock Island
County Indivisible, told NBC station KWQC of Davenport.
And in Amarillo, in the Texas Panhandle, a
small march made its way through downtown to the local office of
Republican U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, NBC station KAMR reported.
The march ended in a "die-in" to express
support for the "99% of Americans either victimized or exploited by the
Trump Regime," the organizers, the High Plains Circle of Non-Violence,
said in a statement.
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