An estimated 400 people gathered at the intersection of Kearney Street and Sims Way in Port Townsend Tuesday afternoon to rally in support of impeaching President Donald Trump.

The local group, sponsored by Indivisible Port Townsend, braved cold temperatures to wave signs as passing drivers honked in support. Cheers of ‘Ho, ho; Trump must go!” echoed on the street.

Crowd size was estimated through block-counting, with the crowd on the east side of Sims accounting for about 150 and on the west side, more than 250.

“You can feel hopeless, overwhelmed,” said Paula McDonnel of Chimicum. “Like we can’t do anything. I thought, well today, I’m doing something.”

Signs read: “Trump is not Above the Law”, “Impeach the Presidunce”, “Trump/Putin 2020” and “Impeach and Convict; Save our Democracy.”

“He is a clear and present danger to our democracy and way of life,” said Jane Covert-Lannon of Port Townsend. “This is a way to say he needs to be impeached. He needs to be removed.”

When asked what she hoped to accomplish Tuesday, Kate Dwyer of Port Townsend said, “How do you bumper sticker-ize such a huge protest?,” she said, motioning to the throngs gathered on both sides of Sims Way.

“And it’s not going to change. When you feel the country is going down the tubes, this is a feeling of solidarity. We need to, as much as possible, resist.”

Many said they were impressed with the turnout, to which 172 people had RSVP’d.

“I love to see all the people out here, waving, honking,” said Kathi Townsend. “Our Constitution and liberty are at stake. This thing with Russia has got to stop. I’ll stand up for that battle. I’ll be out here every day. My voice will not be stopped.”

Dennis Daneau of Port Townsend agreed.

“If Trump is allowed to get away with what he has been doing — the obstruction of justice, the bribery — then we might as well rip up our Constitution. There’s no more separation of powers. Congress will not be allowed to stop what he does, ever. I’m disappointed the Republicans aren’t willing to look at it and what it means for the long term.”

‘We are everywhere’

More than 500 “Nobody is Above the Law” protests and rallies, sponsored by political action groups such as MoveOn, 20/20 Vision, Indivisible and others, were held throughout the country.

Indivisible Port Townsend’s Mike Cornforth said he hopes to reach the 10 to 15 percent who might support Trump but remain open-minded about the impeachment.

“That’s an important portion of our population,” Cornforth said. “In Jefferson County, it’s not really an issue, but these rallies all over the nation: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky; I hope they have good enthusiastic turnouts. That will display the energy and show that we think this man should not serve as president and should be removed.”

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote today (Dec. 18) on two articles of impeachment, including abuse of power and obstruction of justice that stem from Trump’s dealings with Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelensky this summer and fall. A party-line vote is expected in the Democrat-led House, triggering a trial in the Republican-held Senate, most likely in January.

Congress voted last summer to send $391 million in military aid to help Ukraine fight off attacks from Russia, but Trump suspended the delivery of the funds and, in a phone call with Zelensky, intimated that he would release them if Zelensky would investigate Hunter Biden, the son of 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Hunter Biden sat on a Ukrainian energy company board. Republicans say he was cashing in on his connections, but there has been no finding of any wrongdoing by him or by his father.

“The reasons for impeaching — and, one would hope, removal — have to do with the casualness with which he treats our national security by trying to extort something out of a foreign government that is one of our allies in combat against Russia,” Cornforth said. “That is in direct contradiction to our national security aims for Ukraine. He did that to get political dirt on a potential political opponent — the very thing our founding fathers said: allowing foreign government to get involved in our elections, is one of those (impeachable) offenses.”

He also finds it preposterous that Trump and his allies say the process is not fair and that they have not been allowed to participate.

“The reality is, his own people have been forbidden to testify,” Cornforth noted. “If there really is exculpatory evidence, an eye- or ear-witness, please present it. They’ve been given multiple opportunities to do it. Instead, he completely blocks information from flowing. That is clearly obstruction. Don’t see how anyone can deny that.”

Many at the protest admitted they don’t think Trump will be removed from office.

“But he has to wear that scarlet ‘I’ for the rest of his life,” said Marilyn Friedrich.

Articles of impeachment

In part, the first article of impeachment reads, “Using the powers of his high office, President Trump solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 United States Presidential election. He did so through a scheme or course of conduct that included soliciting the Government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations that would benefit his reelection, harm the election prospects of a political opponent, and influence the 2020 United States Presidential election to his advantage.”

Once caught, the article continues, “Trump ultimately released the military and security assistance to the Government of Ukraine, but has persisted in openly and corruptly urging and soliciting Ukraine to undertake investigations for his personal political benefit.”

It is unlikely Republicans in the Senate will vote to impeach, pundits say. The Senate would need 67 members, or two-thirds, to approve an impeachment. Twenty Republicans would need to cross party lines to achieve that, which most agree is highly unlikely.

“This is a dramatic moment in our history,” said Marty Gilmore, chair of the Jefferson County Democrats. “We have a criminal in the White House, and we want to show support for the effort to remove him. There are rallies across the country, and we want to do our part, from this Washington to that Washington. Many, many voices need to rise, all across the country.”