There were hundreds of protests across the nation Thursday in response to President Trump’s recent firing of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Here on the Central Coast, there were rallies in Santa Barbara, Ojai, Paso Robles, and Cambria. In San Luis Obispo, hundreds gathered on the steps of the courthouse to express their concern for Trump’s placement of former Attorney General's chief of staff, Matt Whitaker, as head of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Chants of “Nobody is above the law!” could be heard Thursday evening in downtown San Luis Obispo. Many of the protesters at the rally held signs that said “Resist!” and “Defend Mueller.” U.S. Congressman Salud Carbajal spoke to the crowd and echoed their concerns for the continued independence of U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
“This is a matter of national security,” Carbajal said. “The American people deserve to know the truth of how our elections were influenced by the Russian government and its effect to this administration.”
Carbajal told the crowd that Session’s replacement has displayed partisan biases and conflicts of interest in the past. Carbajal said Whitaker should recuse himself from the investigation.
“I am 100 percent in support of colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee who are urging an emergency hearing on the interim attorney General appointment of Matthew Witacker to run the Justice Department,” Carbajal said.
The rally, which was put on in part by Women’s March SLO, was part of the Nobody Is Above The Law movement. It is part of the progressive organizing and campaigning group Move On. If Mueller is pulled from the Russia Investigation, the organization says there will be a national call to take to the streets.
