Trump impeachment protest: Thousands march against US President in more than 600 demonstrations

Follow our live updates on the impeachment hearing HERE
Tim Baker18 December 2019

Protesters took to the streets in more than 600 demonstrations across the US to call for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

Thousands of people were expected to show up in New York City alone, with iconic locations like Times Square the backdrop to placards and slogans.

The President today faces a vote on the articles of impeachment and if passed - which seems likely in the Democratically controlled House of Representatives - Mr Trump will face a trial on the floor of the Senate in the new year.

Mr Trump’s Republican party control the upper chamber of Congress, and a two-thirds majority would be needed to convict the President.

Donald Trump impeachment protests: December 2019

1/25

“I’m here today because I see this as a chance for a pivotal point, a turning point in our future,” said 19-year-old student Serena Hertzog. “My main issue that I’m most passionate about is environmental justice and I see our president as posing a huge threat to our environment.”

Demonstrators who were gathered in Times Square chanted slogans like “Impeach Trump” and held signs that read: “Trump is not above the law” and “Rise and resist.”

Trump faces one charge of abuse of power for asking Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading Democratic contender to oppose him in the 2020 presidential election.

A woman takes a picture as crowds gather in New York
Getty Images for MoveOn.org

The Republican president also faces a charge of obstructing the congressional investigation into the matter.

“This is a really crucial moment for citizens to come out and engage,” said Shannon Stagman of Empire State Indivisible, one of the rally’s lead organisers.

She added: “We think it’s really important just to come out and say we recognise that crimes were committed here, that this president has abused his power and we’re not OK with letting that slide.”

Donald Trump has branded the impeachment probe a 'hoax' and denies any wrongdoing
AP

Trump has denied wrongdoing and accused Democrats on Tuesday of pursuing an “illegal, partisan attempted coup” and declaring “open war” on American democracy.

He has likened proceedings to the Salem witch trials , a notion rejected by the modern day mayor of the Massachusetts City.

Kim Driscoll tweeted to tell Mr Trump to “learn some history”.

She added “This situation is much different than the plight of the witch trial victims, who were convicted using spectral evidence [and] then brutally hanged or pressed to death.

“A dubious legal process that bears no relation to televised impeachment.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in