WASHINGTON — National advocacy groups on Thursday delivered to Congress multiple petitions of what they said contained 10 million signatures from people who support the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

They delivered the signatures to Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who has introduced a bill that would direct the House Judiciary Committee to investigate whether Trump committed impeachable offenses — an issue that has been heating up among congressional Democrats and presidential contenders.

MoveOn spearheaded the effort that included groups such as Need to Impeach, CREDO and the organizers behind the annual Women's March.

"This is incredible because this is how movements start," Tlaib told supporters rallying for impeachment next to the Capitol building. "We cannot set a precedent and allow the rule of law to be eroded, allow our democracy to continue to be corrupted by this president."

Tlaib, who came under fire in January for saying Democrats are "gonna impeach the motherf---er," said Thursday that impeachment of Trump is not only about special counsel Robert Mueller's report, but about his administration's policies.

This is how we do it. This is a movement to take back our country.



10 million people want to protect our democracy.



10 million people want us to uphold the U.S. Constitution.



10 million people are demanding we hold individual 1 accountable to the rule of law. #TimetoImpeach https://t.co/jUAgjpnFMm — Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) May 9, 2019

The petition containing the signatures was delivered to Tlaib on a flash drive.

"We will not avoid impeachment and we will not avoid it because my dear friends, there comes a time in the history of your country where you have to take a stand," said Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who joined Tlaib at the event, and who has formally introduced articles of impeachment against Trump.

Tlaib’s impeachment-related measure has seven co-sponsors, most of whom signed on after the release of the redacted Mueller report late last month, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

Meanwhile, Democratic leaders remain cautious about impeachment proceedings. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday, "This is very methodical. It's very Constitution-based, it's very law-based, it's very factually based. It's not about pressure — it's about patriotism."