Citizens join nationwide protest

By Tate Thomson

Reporter

Citizens gathered on the San Juan County Courthouse lawn at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8 to join the nationwide “Nobody is Above the Law” protests.

Sparked by the forced resignation of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday, Nov. 7, these protests demonstrated concern about what will happen to the ongoing investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Trump has appointed Matthew Whitaker, who has criticized the investigation, as acting attorney general. Robert Mueller’s role as head of the Russian investigation may be threatened now that Whitaker is on the case. “Protect Mueller” resonated across the nation during these protests in fear that Mueller may be undermined and the Russia interference investigation will be abandoned without any conclusions. Protestors have accused Trump of “putting himself above the law” by appointing Whitaker and potentially putting Mueller’s position and the investigation at risk.

These protests were organized by an activist group named MoveOn, and happened across the United States and Canada. MoveOn organizers have been working for political action over the past 20 years, tackling healthcare issues, economic fairness and, most recently, a “Resistance to Trump” according to moveon.org. They labeled the Nov. 8 situation as a “Constitutional Crisis Warning” and urged people to join a nearby protest.