Attendees of a pro-impeachment rally say they’re optimistic that President Donald Trump will be removed from office, either through congressional action or by the voters next year. KUNR’s Lucia Starbuck has the story.
Gathered in front of the BELIEVE sign in downtown Reno, hundreds of people braved the dark and cold to rally in support of impeaching the president this week.
“I'm wearing three layers, hand warmers, my beanie, my Nevada sweatshirt. But you can't see it,” Pam Ginsburg said.
Ginsburg is bundled up and carrying a red sign that says, “Resist.” She says the recent House vote should encourage people to head to the polls.
“Well, I'm hoping people will wake up. I'm hoping they come out to vote. I'm trying to encourage young people to register and to vote,” Ginsburg said.
For David Gladden, the president’s policies are personal. He immigrated from Belize and earned U.S. citizenship five years ago. He says he supports impeachment.
“So, I'm one of those people that the Trump policies are targeting. Even though that's frustrating, and we can't seem to do anything because there's so much gridlock in the House and Senate, this is one where we can let the government know that we're not going to let it go to the breaking point," Gladden said.
Like Gladden, many demonstrators offered a litany of grievances against Trump. They remain hopeful the Senate will agree with the house and remove the president.
But some, like Edwin Lyngar, an English teacher and occasional political columnist for the Reno Gazette-Journal, say they’re looking more towards next year’s election.
“In 2020, we will also clean Washington of Trump-enablers, bootlickers, like our friend, the forever befuddled and confused Congressman Mark Amodei. Send him home,” Lyngar said.
Amodei is Nevada’s lone Republican in Congress. He said in a statement that he voted against impeachment because the evidence the Democrats presented wasn’t enough to prove that Trump committed a crime.