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Activists call for big ‘Protect Mueller’ protest starting in Cal Anderson — UPDATE: Thousands march

Gov. Jay Inslee was first to address the crowd (Images: CHS)

UPDATE: A few thousand filled the grass bowl at Cal Anderson and then E Pine for a march to the Federal Building Thursday night in a rally and protest against the Trump administration’s latest moves to thwart an investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election.

The night’s protest was part of actions across the country as some 100,000 reportedly marched in various cities across the U.S.

Flags were a common sight Thursday night as the march made its way off the Hill (Images: CHS)

“I’m Jay Inslee and I’m the governor of a state of seven million people who insist on the rule of law to protect the United States Constitution,” Washington’s governor said as he spoke to the crowd just after 5 PM inside Capitol Hill’s central park.

“What we are doing tonight is speaking out early against a repeated unconstitutional fearful acts of a president who feels cornered,” Inslee said. “Because what we have seen in the last several days is the Americans speaking out to a United States House of Representatives that will finally hold him accountable.”

Washington’s House Rep. Pramila Jayapal called the latest actions by the Trump administration a “break glass moment” and the member of the judiciary committee said she was looking forward to wielding new subpoena powers.

“This president thought that after we marched to the polls on Tuesday, we took back the majority in the house, somehow we’d be a little tired and he’d sneak in a little constitutional crisis on us,” Jayapal said. “But we have a message for you, Mr. President. We are never too tired to stand up for our constitution.”

After a relatively brisk round of speakers, the crowd quickly filed out onto E Pine for the march downtown to the Jackson Federal Building where Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and a crowd awaited the arrival of the hundreds from Capitol Hill filing through downtown.

Before the march began, organizers circled through the crowd with big orange buckets to collect donations to help pay for the infrastructure used to hold the rally and protest.

Original report: In Seattle Thursday night, Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park will once again be the center of the city’s anti-Trump activism.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal and others are expected to speak at a rally and march beginning at 5 PM in the neighborhood’s central park to “to stand up for the rule of law and protect the independence of the Mueller investigation” as part of protests planned in cities and towns across the country:

Nobody is Above the Law – Protect the Mueller Investigation

Thursday’s actions are being organized by Seattle Indivisible and include support from MoveOn, Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Tax March Seattle, Seattle Indivisible, Indivisible WA-8, Indivisible Eastside, March for Truth, Common Cause, Stand Up America, SEA NO H8, SEIU, and Bend the Arc Jewish Action, organizers say.

UPDATE: Organizers say Governor Jay Inslee will join Jayapal, and Noah Eden, former branch chief, National Counterterrorism Center, as speakers at the rally.

 

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The Red Tide at the White House following Tuesday’s Blue Wave has triggered emergency plans activists have had in place for months for protests against Trump administration interference in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russia’s influence on the 2016 election.

“These mass public protests are in response to President Trump’s decision to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions and appoint Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General to oversee the Mueller Investigation,” the organizers write. “This unjustified firing undermines the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion by the Trump campaign.”

Organizing groups say they would like to send the message that “no one is above the law” and are are calling on Congress “to respond quickly and forcefully to this act of obstruction of justice.”

Thursday’s rally will include speakers and a rally at Cal Anderson before a march to 2nd Ave’s H.M. Jackson Federal Building. Organizers are expecting hundreds to attend.

UPDATE x2: The City of Seattle has put out a travelers information bulletin about the protest including a map of the expected march route:

  • 5 PM – 8 PM event includes march from Cal Anderson Park to Henry M Jackson Federal Courthouse.
  • General route is westbound on Pine St to southbound on 2nd Ave.
  • Estimated attendance is ~5,000; this is an estimate and may vary.
  • Protest is expected to be peaceful; organizers are working with the Seattle Police Department.

The city says to expect “rolling closures as march progresses, starting from north to south along Pine, then onto 2nd.”

Wednesday night, a small anti-fascist protest against the Trump administration marched on Broadway, accompanied by a large Seattle Police presence.

Conveniently located near some of the densest neighborhoods in the city and a short walk from light rail, Cal Anderson has increasingly served as the gathering point for protests, rallies, and marches since Trump took office.

The full announcement from Thursday night’s protest organizers is below.

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17 Comments
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Bob
Bob
5 years ago

So supposed liberals and anti-fascists are rallying in support of the former director of the FBI, America’s fascist secret police force. They say the world is spinning around; I say the world is upside down.

“Steeped in its own racism, without any checks or balances, the FBI devoted more resources to harming the civil rights movement than any other task in its purview.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-fbis-war-on-civil-rights-leaders

Sister
Sister
5 years ago

I believe you may be mis-understanding the purpose of the rally: it is to protect the Mueller investigation.

Bob
Bob
5 years ago

Which is an exercise in red-baiting the GOP.

But then again, red-baiting is a time-honored American political tradition. Surprised to see “liberals” taking up the cause though.

https://goo.gl/5r6Rm7

Adam
Adam
5 years ago
Reply to  Bob

You seem triggered, Bob.

Bob
Bob
5 years ago
Reply to  Adam

Really? Wonder why, Adam. Because I am blissfully relaxed and so very much enjoying the evening, not being in Cal Anderson with the 2018 Dem version of the Obama-era Birthers trying desperately to undo an election they legitimately lost.

Tom
Tom
5 years ago
Reply to  Adam

Birther bs was not based on facts but Russian interference is.

Bob
Bob
5 years ago
Reply to  Adam

Nonsense, Tom. After all this time and investigation, there is not a single shred of evidence nor a single indictment supporting the claim that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to interfere with the 2016 election. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

The Russian interference BS is a transparent and pathetic attempt by the Democrats to attack Trump from the right, because the party offers no progressive alternative to Trump’s policies.

Still, yesterday’s demonstration gave us the remarkable picture of Democrats fervently supporting Robert Mueller and Jeff Sessions — two Republicans. They say the world is spinning around; I say the world is upside down.

Tom
Tom
5 years ago
Reply to  Adam

I don’t know where you get your news but even Trump admitted Russia meddled in the election.

RWK
RWK
5 years ago
Reply to  Adam

: I do not agree with Bob’s point of view, but just want to point out that he did not say there was no Russian interference in the 2016 election, only that there was no collusion on the part of the Trump campaign.

Bob
Bob
5 years ago
Reply to  Bob

Tom, let me refresh your memory. Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller to look into:
* The Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the election
* Any links or co-ordination between Russia and Trump campaign-linked individuals
* Any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation

The first two are relevant to the Russian interference allegations. In the second claim, the reference to “Russia” — instead of “Russians” — clearly implies Russian government involvement. As I noted above, there is neither evidence nor indictment to support those claims.

So you and your pals in the park yesterday really are the Birthers of the Trump presidency. I strongly oppose Trump and what he stands for, but I think as a general practice we should respect the outcomes of presidential elections. Unlike you and your Birther predecessors.

Tom
Tom
5 years ago
Reply to  Bob

Neither evidence nor indictment? This is from Trump’s favorite news network:

“A federal grand jury also indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities for allegedly interfering in the election. Mueller’s case alleges those involved had a sophisticated plot to wage “information warfare” on the U.S.

Additionally, the Justice Department on July 13 announced 12 Russian intelligence officers were indicted for allegedly hacking the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign during the 2016 election. All 12 are members of GRU, the Russian intelligence agency.”

Bob
Bob
5 years ago
Reply to  Bob

Tom, the Dem narrative is that the Trump campaign treasonously colluded with the Russian government to subvert the 2016 election. This is not supported by evidence or indictment. With no treason and no collusion, your supposed justification for impeaching and convicting Trump evaporates. Agreed? But that appears not to discourage the anti-Trump “Birthers” from calling for impeachment. Like the Birthers of 2009, you continue to seek to overturn an election your side legitimately lost.

The Mueller investigation itself, in the absence of any evidence of collusion, has devolved into a Whitewater-like fishing expedition pursuing “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.”

Tom
Tom
5 years ago
Reply to  Bob

Complicated investigations often take years to resolve. An intelligence agency operation is not going to leave evidence and wide open connections for anyone to easily find. It is curious for you to give the benefit of the doubt to Trump and his people, who have proven to be liars and criminals. You are assuming guys like George Papadopoulos to have operated on his own and Trump Jr. to be telling the truth.

Bob
Bob
5 years ago
Reply to  Bob

Tom, as I previously mentioned, I strongly oppose Trump and what he stands for. Please note that I am not out in the streets marching for him.

But on Thursday night, Democrats and supposed liberals marched in support of Jeff Sessions. Jeff Sessions, whom the NAACP blasted for his “decades-long record—from his early days as a prosecutor to his present role as a senator—of opposing civil rights and equality.” NAACP President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill wrote, “It is unimaginable that [Sessions] could be entrusted to serve as the chief law-enforcement officer for this nation’s civil-rights laws. This is yet another signal from the incoming administration that it is not only prepared to turn its back on equality; it is actively working to continue to sow division and undo decades of progress.”

What’s curious is “liberals” marching for two Republicans: Sessions, a racist, and Mueller, former head of the FBI, America’s fascist secret police force with a long record of unconstitutionally suppressing dissent, especially targeting the civil rights and antiwar movements. For more information, see the link in my first comment above. Are you sure you’re on the right side, Tom?

Tom
Tom
5 years ago
Reply to  Bob

You are assuming I like Sessions which can’t be any further from the truth. When I heard about his firing, my reaction was, “that turd in the White House will appoint someone even worse who will do whatever he says.”

Not all Democrats and liberals think the same way or agree on everything. The way you talk about them makes me think you are one of those people who think there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans. They are both bad so you either didn’t vote or you voted for the third party or whoever it was who had no chance of winning.

snh
snh
5 years ago

Thank you CHS for the great coverage. What the former military and counterterrorism speakers had to say was truly chilling. Why wouldn’t the president want to put all resources and efforts into uncovering the truth about whether the Russians interfered in our election? 30 indictments so far and so many more to go…

Jim98122x
Jim98122x
5 years ago
Reply to  snh

Why wouldn’t he? Because the sniveling, traitorous coward will get caught. And he knows it.