The Impeachment March, sometimes referred to as the "Impeach Trump" protest,[1] was a series of rallies against the
president of the United States,
Donald Trump, held nationwide on July 2–4, 2017, advocating that Congress begin the
impeachment process against him.
The demonstrations were mostly peaceful, though three people were arrested in
Philadelphia. Many featured speeches by politicians and local activities, and some attracted
counter-protesters who wanted to show their support for Trump. Events were organized by various organizations, including affiliates of the
Indivisible movement.
More than 100 people gathered at the
Texas State Capitol in
downtown Austin for the march, and a smaller group came to support the president.[14] The demonstration was organized by Sharyn Richardson with assistance from Karan Barnett Shirk, and sponsored by
Donna Howard, a
Democratic member of the
Texas House of Representatives, representing the 48th District.[23] It was held one day after a pro-Trump rally at Wooldridge Square Park, called the "1776 Freedom March".[7][24] The impeachment march at the Capitol became tense, with heated exchanges and counter-protesters carrying bullhorn sirens.[15][7] Counter-protestors were able to "match the impeachment rally", according to
KWQC-TV.[25]Al Green, a U.S. Representative from
Texas's
9th congressional district who was the first to call for Trump's impeachment back in May,[19][14] was among the featured speakers. He also led the
Pledge of Allegiance and sang "
God Bless America".[19] The
Austin Police Department reportedly received one report of assault, but no arrests were made.[7][14]
Buffalo, New York's protest was organized by the Western New York Peace Center as part of a National Day of Action.[26] Around 125 demonstrators gathered at
Lafayette Square, then marched to
Niagara Square before returning to their starting location.[27] The protest in
Chicago drew about 50 demonstrators, who gathered at Federal Plaza. Diana Dalnes was named an organizer of the local event.[13][28] The event in
Cleveland was organized by a local affiliate of the
Indivisible movement, called IndivisibleCLE; Suzy Scullin of
Lakewood, Ohio was also named a march organizer.[4] For the protest in Davenport, which was supported by Rock Island County Indivisible, demonstrators marched across the
Rock Island Centennial Bridge to Schweibert Park in
Rock Island, Illinois.[19] 30 marchers were later photographed as a group to send to Cheri Bustos and Dave Loebsack in Congress to encourage them to impeach the president.[29]
In Palm Beach, about 100 protesters marched to
Mar-a-Lago.[10] The demonstration was organized by United Against Trump Pence and Pop Up Protest South Florida. Following the protesters was a smaller group of Trump supporters, some attending as part of Zone 6 of the
3 Percenters.[10][34] A 50-person "March for Donald Trump" was held in
Philadelphia in opposition to the impeachment rally, which attracted around 150 participants.[35][36] Trump protesters gathered at People's Plaza near the
Liberty Bell, while supporters gathered at The Irish Memorial and made their way to
Logan Circle.[35][36] Demonstrations were monitored by the
Philadelphia Police Department with support from officials of the
National Park Service, the Philadelphia County Sheriff's Office,
SEPTA, and the
United States Department of Homeland Security.[36] The marches were peaceful, but an altercation between the rival groups occurred outside a bar, and three anti-Trump demonstrators were arrested.[19][36][37] David Love was named an organizer of the Philadelphia impeachment march.[36] An estimated 100–150 protesters attended a demonstration in
Seattle, gathering at
Seattle Center before marching along 2nd Avenue.[11][38][39] The protest was organized by Gina Merchan.[38]
California
California saw demonstrations in
Escondido,[3] Los Angeles,
Sacramento,
San Diego,
San Francisco, and
Santa Ana. The San Diego Free Press endorsed the Escondido and San Diego protests.[40]
The Escondido demonstration was held near the
Westfield North County shopping mall.[41] Thousands of protesters turned out for the march in
downtown Los Angeles, which was one of the largest impeachment demonstrations in the U.S.[5][42][43] More than 12,000 people had expressed interest in attending, on the event's Facebook page, and organizers funded the demonstration through
crowdsourcing.[43] Representative
Brad Sherman spoke to the marchers who gathered in
Pershing Square, then made their way to Fletcher Bowron Square. In his speech, Sherman compared Trump to
Richard Nixon, commented on Trump's alleged abuse of power and impulsive decisions, and also mentioned
James Comey's testimony.[5][44] Marchers also carried a black coffin, covered in red, white, and blue decorations with a sign that read, "The Presidency 1789–2017".[45] There was a small counter-protest, with about four dozen Trump supporters standing outside police headquarters.[42][46] The supporters were "unconcerned about allegations that Trump tried to thwart an FBI investigation", according to The Times of Israel.[47] The march remained peaceful, and no arrests were made.[5]
There were hundreds of people gathered at the
California State Capitol in Sacramento.[48] The rally was peaceful, although there were counter-protesters.[49] Police estimated that there were around 2,000 protesters at the San Diego march, which was held outside the
San Diego County Administration Center at Waterfront Park and also attracted a smaller group of Trump supporters.[3][50][51]Lori Saldaña spoke at the event, as did representatives from
Border Angels and the San Diego Young Muslim Democrats.[41][52] The march was also in protest of
Doug Manchester, who was Trump's nominee to be
United States Ambassador to the Bahamas.[3][53] There was a counter-protest with around 150 people wearing helmets and riot gear; police officers worked to keep the two groups separated.[3][41][52]
Thousands of protesters attended the San Francisco march, which was organized by
Progressive Democrats of America, among other groups.[54] Participants gathered to hear speeches at Justin Herman Plaza,[55] along the
Embarcadero, then made their way to
Fisherman's Wharf.[54] Around 300 people protested in Santa Ana, gathering at Sasscer Park and marching around the
Civic Center.[56] Indivisible-39 was represented at the event, and there were reportedly no counter-protesters.[57] The event was organized by Natasha Salgado and featured speakers representing the
Garden Grove Unified School District, Indivisible OC, and
Pantsuit Nation. Later, police estimated there were as many as 700 attendees in Santa Ana, with no incidents.[58]