On eve of historic vote, protesters rally nationwide to impeach Trump

Protesters hold up signs at the March for Impeachment in Times Square in New York City on Tuesday in New York City. The House is moving closer to impeaching President Donald Trump as the Rules Committee meets Tuesday to set the parameters for the historic debate on Wednesday over Trump's conduct toward Ukraine. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

Dec. 18 (UPI) — Protesters in cities nationwide took to the streets to demonstrate against U.S. President Donald Trump the night before a historic impeachment vote.

In New York City, thousands marched through Times Square with a giant banner inscribed with Article II, Section 4, of the Constitution that concerns impeachment.

In Greater Boston, hundreds braved the rain to listen to speakers protest against Trump and chant: “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has to go!”

The protests are some of 600 held Tuesday night throughout the nation in cities large and small, said event organizer Nobody is Above the Law, a network of dozens of groups including the Women’s March and the Center for American Progress.

The network said the vote on Wednesday by the House of Representatives will be a historic moment that will shape the trajectory of the United States and it wants to ensure that the public’s voice is heard by their representatives as they finalize their decisions.

“We need to make sure that the public support for impeachment that has driven Congress to act is part of that moment and is the closing argument members of Congress hear before they cast their vote,” the network said on its website.

On Wednesday, the House will vote on two articles of impeachment charging Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress for threatening to withhold promised military aid from Ukraine unless it investigates his political rival, presidential Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden who served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company from 2014 to early this year.

In Michigan, hundreds of protesters demonstrated in Detroit and Ferndale in support of impeaching Trump. They waved flags, carried signs and marched along the streets chanting “Lock him up,” a play on a chant frequently heard at Trump campaign rallies in 2016 in protest to his then-Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton.

“We’re going to keep fighting until Trump is removed from office,” activist Jessica Prozinski told protesters in downtown Detroit.

In downtown Los Angeles, hundreds gathered in Grand Park outside City Hall in support of impeachment with actor Rob Reiner telling those assembled that Trump’s time as the country’s chief had run out.

“We will make sure that not only is he impeached, but he will be removed from office,” he said.

Actress Alyssa Milano was also there leading chants and broadcasting the event live by Twitter.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump condemned the upcoming impeachment vote in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling it the equivalent of “declaring open war on American democracy.”

If the vote passes the House of Representatives on Wednesday, the Republican-controlled Senate will hold a trial over the articles of impeachment before voting on whether to convict him.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he is listening to the White House on how to approach the impeachment hearing and that he hopes it will be short.

In West Palm Beach, Fla., near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, Pat Barnes, who rallied with a “Merry Impeachment” sign, said she believes the Senate will vote to impeach Trump.

“I think if the senators voted with their conscience instead of with their party, they would remove him from office,” she said.

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