Hundreds of thousands of people participated in coordinated protests in cities and towns across the United States on Thursday evening to voice their collective displeasure with President Donald Trump's move to install Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General—a man openly hostile to executive oversight and the Special Counsel probe into 2016 election interfence—after firing Jeff Sessions less than 24 hours after this week's midterm elections.
"These protests were pulled together by sheer determination on the day after Election Day. People came about because no matter how tired we are, we will always put our country first. The efforts of these activists are amazing and inspiring. Tonight, they made it very clear that they do not intend to stop until our democracy is no longer under siege." —Izzy Bronstein, Common Cause
Photos and videos flooded social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram all night long as people celebrated the energy and size of the turnouts in large cities like New York, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco as well as scores of smaller ones like Madison, Raleigh, Plymouth, Omaha, Orlando, Doylestown, Alexandria, Bellingham, and countless others.
"If you have any doubt about the resiliency of our democracy – especially in the wake of a bruising election – then go type in #ProtectMueller on Twitter and you will be heartened and inspired by the pictures and videos of protests across the country," said Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn.
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Izzy Bronstein, Flynn's colleague at Common Cause, said "These protests were pulled together by sheer determination on the day after Election Day. People came about because no matter how tired we are, we will always put our country first. The efforts of these activists are amazing and inspiring. Tonight, they made it very clear that they do not intend to stop until our democracy is no longer under siege."
Using the "moment" function on Twitter, Common Dreams staffers compiled photos, videos, and messages from across the country on Thursday night—in big cities and smaller towns—as residents came together to express their contempt for Trump's ongoing assault on democracy and the rule of law:
