Demanding that the nation's most powerful Democrat use her position to impede President Donald Trump's vicious anti-immigrant agenda and push for impeachment, progressive activists on Wednesday disrupted a "Heart of the Resistance" event honoring House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a lifetime achievement award.
As dozens rallied outside, four activists with Credo Action entered the InterContinental San Francisco Hotel, the site of the $250-per-ticket dinner, and interrupted the award ceremony, calling on Pelosi to heed the demands of the grassroots and a growing number of House Democrats by backing impeachment.
"Speaker Pelosi, I am undocumented. My community is being targeted by ICE and killed by white supremacists. Fight for my community and impeach Trump now," said Credo Action campaign manager Thais Marques. "We can't wait. Impeach Trump."
In an email to supporters late Wednesday, Credo Action said many Democrats in attendance "shouted Marques down while Speaker Pelosi herself talked over Marques rather than listening to and engaging with her."
The activists were eventually removed from the event by San Francisco police.
"The time to act is now--we can't wait on impeachment any longer," said Marques following the event. "Pelosi's refusal to hear me speaks volumes about the limits of today's Democratic Party, which congratulates itself on hating Trump but is unwilling to act to rein him in."
In addition to demanding that Pelosi back impeachment proceedings, which a majority of House Democrats now support, activists also condemned the Speaker's decision in June to approve a $4.6 billion Republican border funding package that included virtually no safeguards for immigrant children detained by the Trump administration.
Demonstrators outside the hotel held signs that read, "On Your Watch--$4.59 Billion for Concentration Camps, $5 Billion for Border Wall Funding, 2,167 Children Separated, 24 Migrant Deaths."
"Speaker Pelosi is letting Trump get away with deporting and oppressing our people and stripping away our rights," said immigrant rights organization Movimiento Cosecha, which took part in Wednesday's demonstration. "Just today, he announced plans to detain kids indefinitely. She must use her power to impeach Trump now."
