The sun may have been setting, but the people were just beginning to rise.
On Thursday, Nov. 8, protesters gathered at Courthouse Square in Redwood City at 5 p.m. as part of a nationwide protest against President Donald Trump forcing Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign.
“People are here today because we don’t agree with what President Donald Trump and the GOP are trying to do, stopping the justice department and their investigations into Trump’s ill-doings,” said Gloria Paulson, an organizer for the protest.
The “Nobody is Above the Law” protests were scheduled to take place in cities across the country through MoveOn as part of a “rapid response” to Trump’s firing of Sessions and his replacement with Matthew Whitaker as acting Attorney General. For protesters, this represented the crossing of a “red line.”
“Jeff Sessions was just asked to resign, which is the same thing as being fired. That was the red line that we said he could not cross because that is an interference with the investigation and that is an obstruction of justice. Nobody is above the law, including the president of the United States,” said Estelle Wyl, who attended the Redwood City Protest.
Redwood City protesters carried signs with sayings such as, “Protect Mueller” and, “Nobody is above the law.”
After gathering in Courthouse Square, protesters marched down the block chanting, “When democracy is under attack, what do we do? Stand up fight back.”
Many people driving by honked their horns as a show of support, and others came out of nearby restaurants to watch. Even when the sun went down, protesters still remained unified in their message.
“I want people to know this is an important issue that is going on. I know a lot of people don’t care about politics after the election, but it really is an ongoing commitment to justice and fairness and making sure our country is going in the direction it should,” said William Klausmeyer, who attended the protest.
Whittaker, who is replacing Sessions, has been an open critic of the Mueller Investigation. Making comments on a radio show in 2017, he said the appointment of Mueller was “ridiculous” and it “smells a little fishy.”
“If Robert Mueller is fired tomorrow, we will meet here again, and we will continue to meet every night,” Paulson said.
Many people appear to feel this fire. More than 100 people attended the protest in Redwood City, hoping to use their anger to fuel a greater public outrage.
“We are all American citizens, and we all need to be treated the same under the law. It doesn’t matter if you are a person walking down the street or the president of the United States sitting in the oval office, no one is above the law,” said Mary Scavarda, who also attended the protest.
According to MoveOn, the group that organized these nationwide demonstrations, one of the goals of the protests was to demand that Whitaker immediately commit not to assume supervision of the investigation.
“I want people to know that if it’s just ten minutes of their day or one hour of their day, it’s important for them to speak up for our country. If you are a Republican, a Democrat, or an independent, we are all in this together, and we all need to speak up,” Paulson said.
