Hundreds of community members gathered at Harvey Milk Promenade Park in Downtown Long Beach Tuesday night to call on Congress to impeach and remove President Donald Trump.
The “Nobody is above the law” rally was one of hundreds scheduled to take place around the country on what was dubbed Impeachment Eve.
On Wednesday 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.
“This is not a happy night, we don’t want to be here,” said Long Beach resident and organizer of the local rally Jacqui Viale. “This is sad and disturbing and scary that we have to do this but we’re doing it because we support the constitution of the United States of America and this is our patriotic duty.”
At the event, Rep. Alan Lowenthal’s field representative Clayton Heard read a letter from the congressman who is in Washington, D.C. preparing to vote on the impeachment.
“We have overwhelming evidence that this president poses an urgent threat to our elections, national security, and the rule of law,” Lowenthal wrote. “Congress must vote to impeach him to protect our Constitutional republic. There is no alternative. For these reasons, I will vote to support impeachment.”
A handful of impassioned community members also took to the stage to speak on the importance of the impeachment and calling on others to help flip Congressional seats in Republican-dominated districts or to educate to friends and relatives about what is at stake.
After the speaking portion of the event, some members of the public marched through Downtown chanting “no one is above the law” and “lock him up” while holding signs calling for Trump’s impeachment. Passersby and motorists clapped and honked in support.
While Long Beach police monitored the rally there were no altercations and no Trump supporters present.
City News Service contributed to this report.