Bellingham rally to back impeachment about ‘defending the rule of law,’ protesters say
More than 500 people rallied Tuesday night at Bellingham City Hall in support of today’s planned U.S. House vote to impeach President Trump.
It was among more than 20 similar demonstrations across Western Washington and more than 600 around the nation organized by the activist group MoveOn.org.
David Lewis of Ferndale carried a sign that said “Impeach Putin’s Puppet,” alluding to Russia’s interference on behalf of Trump in the 2016 election.
“It’s not just any demonstration,” Lewis told The Bellingham Herald. “I’m alarmed by Trump. I never thought I’d be defending the rule of law or democracy for that matter.”
Organizers from local sponsor Indivisible Bellingham estimated the crowd at 800 people, who listened to 90 minutes of speeches, songs and chants.
About a dozen people stood across the street at the Whatcom County Courthouse in support of the president.
Speakers from groups such as the Sierra Club, Raging Grannies, and the Riveters Collective addressed the crowd and musicians including activist Robert Sarazin Blake performed several songs.
Hope Jose-Day, a junior at Ferndale High, told the crowd how racism and bigotry moved into the open after Trump’s 2016 election.
“I remember returning to school the first day after Trump had been reelected president,” she told the crowd. “In my eighth-grade advisory class, one of the boys who sat at my table chanted ‘He-hey, ho-ho, the Jose-Days have got to go.’ Suddenly, more derogatory terms like (racist slurs) became common around the school.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 7:22 AM.
