MoveOn and Common Cause held a series of rallies across the country and in Los Angeles County Tuesday to call for the impeachment and removal of President Donald Trump from office.
The rallies, set locally for 5:30 p.m., took place one day before the House of Representatives votes on two articles of impeachment against
Trump, alleging he abused the power of his office and obstructed Congress.
The House Judiciary Committee approved the two articles Friday and the
full chamber is expected to approve them, sending the impeachment process to the Republican-dominated Senate for a trial.
Rallies in Los Angeles took place at:
-- Grand Park, across the street from Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N.
Grand Ave. According to the organizer's website, www.impeach.org, more than 3,400 people signed up to attend the rally.
-- West Hollywood Park, 647 N. San Vicente Blvd., with about 1,000
people registered to attend.
-- Burbank Five Points Art Monument, 1100 W. Victory Blvd., Burbank,
where about 300 people signed up to attend.
-- Sherman Oaks Galleria, 15301 Ventura Blvd., with about 1,000 registered.
-- At 5 p.m., Kersting Court in Sierra Madre, off Sierra Madre
Boulevard and North Baldwin Avenue. About 500 signed up to attend.
-- Tongva Park, Ocean Avenue and Colorado Boulevard, Santa Monica,
where about 100 signed up to attend.
Katie Hill, the former Democratic 25th District congresswoman who
resigned earlier this year amid allegations of an affair with an office staffer
and the online release of intimate photos, spoke at the Grand Park rally along with actress Alyssa Milano.
"If we simply turn a blind eye to Trump's behavior or let him walk clean, that is a sign for the next president, and those who follow, that they can get away with abuses of power, obstruction of justice and violating the Constitution,'' California Common Cause Executive Director Kathay Feng said. "Staying silent is not an option."
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Trump, who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and assailed the
campaign against him as a "witch hunt'' and a "hoax,'' on Tuesday sent a six-page letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasting the impeachment effort.
"This impeachment represents an unprecedented and unconstitutional
abuse of power by Democrat lawmakers, unequaled in nearly two and a half
centuries of American legislative history,'' Trump wrote.
He insisted the Articles of Impeachment against him "include no
crimes, no misdemeanors and no offenses whatsoever.''
"By proceeding with your invalid impeachment, you are violating your
oaths of office, you are breaking your allegiance to the Constitution and you
are declaring open war on American Democracy,'' Trump wrote.
Josh Rubenstein, spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, said
the department is aware of the rallies.
"We will ensure every Angeleno's First Amendment rights are protected,'' Rubenstein said. "We are prepared to deploy resources in response to any issues that may arise.''
On Saturday, a confrontation erupted when anti-impeachment protesters
disrupted an event in Glendale featuring Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank.
Schiff was speaking at a town hall celebrating the recent passage of a bipartisan bill he co-authored recognizing mass killings of Armenians by
Ottoman Turks a century ago as genocide.
Shortly after he took the podium, a group of pro-Trump protesters started shouting and calling him a liar. Organizers of the event tried to calm them down, but police eventually removed the demonstrators from the room.
Schiff is the chair of the House Intelligence Committee and was a
central figure during the impeachment inquiry earlier this month.
