About 30 members of the action group ‘Rise and Resist’ assembled outside Trump Tower on 5th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday, July 11, 2019, kicking off their summer season of impeachment actions. Carrying signs urging Trump associates to stop protecting their boss and holding a large banner calling for the impeachment of Trump, the activists called on the House of Representatives to begin impeachment hearings.
Under the watchful eye of about seven Secret Service agents and a few members of the NYPD, the protestors chanted “Who is the emergency, Trump is the emergency” and called out the number of Trump’s alleged criminal activities. They include obstruction of justice, violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause, campaign finance violations, advocating illegal violence and supporting white supremacists, abuse of the pardon power, and the unconstitutional and cruel imprisonment of children and their families.
Some members handed out “Defend Democracy! #ImpeachNow” postcards to pedestrians passing by Trump Tower. The card details the reasons for Rise and Resist’s calls for impeachment; Democrats like House Speaker Nanci Pelosi are concerned that an aggressive push for impeachment proceedings could potentially cost them the presidential election in 2020 while Republicans are against impeachment because they want to remain in power. The founders, however, created impeachment to protect the country from criminal presidents. The action group emphasizes that Congress has the responsibility to defend the Constitution instead of putting party over country.
According to a CNN count from July 11, 2019, at least 82 House Democrats believe that sufficient evidence exists that warrants the beginning of an impeachment inquiry.
Scenes from the Rise and Resist action:
