'It's important to stand up and be counted.' Trump rally hits Fountain Square

Madeline Mitchell | Cincinnati Enquirer

"No one is above the law!" Trump protesters shouted in unison as Christmas music blasted and ice skaters skated circles around the rink at Fountain Square Tuesday evening.

At 6:50 p.m. several dozen activists were gathered for Cincinnati's "Nobody Is Above the Law" rally, a nationwide effort to call on Congress to impeach and remove Donald Trump on the grounds that he pressured Ukraine to open investigations that would benefit his 2020 election campaign. The House has indicated that they will vote on impeachment Wednesday.

By 7:10 p.m. what looked like more than 175 people had gathered, signs in hand, bundled in coats, hats, scarves and gloves.

Temperatures hovered just below freezing throughout the event.

Rally organizer Mark Santangelo said when he learned about the nationwide protests he immediately went to moveon.org to find out where and when the Cincinnati rally would be.

He said there was not a rally scheduled for Cincinnati.

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"So I chose to step forward and host this event," Santangelo said. "I chose Fountain Square because it was an iconic location for our city."

Santangelo said he "definitely" supports the impeachment of President Trump and hopes that the rally will raise awareness to the issue.

Terri Kern, an artist out of Pendleton, stood towards the back of the crowd proudly displaying her handmade sign over her head: "DEFEND DEMOCRACY IMPEACH TRUMP."

"It's important to stand up and be counted," said Kern, 55.

Kern said she listened to all of the hearings and felt like she had a "really good grasp" of what was said by the witnesses. At the end of the hearing she said she found herself disheartened, frustrated and disappointed.

"I'm looking at any opportunity as a citizen to make my voice heard," Kern said.

"And dispel the myth that we don't care," chimed in her friend Nancy Hopkins, 53, who had told Kern about the rally.

The women stood in the cold with other protesters and Hopkins' dog, Colin, as the group recited calls like "This is what democracy looks like" and call-and-response chants like "What do we want?" "Impeachment!" "When do we want it?" "Now!"

Jim Prues, 67, of North Avondale, said he is not as confident about the immediacy of Trump's impeachment.

"I am not sure if Donald Trump is going to be removed from office, but I am quite sure republicans are gonna take a beating come November 2020," he said. "You don't see rallies like this from Trump supporters."

There was little push-back from passersby. No anti-rally groups were spotted at the event.

Most activists began to leave Fountain Square after the crowd sang the national anthem together a little after 7:30 p.m.

The full House is expected to vote on two articles of impeachment – abuse of power and obstruction of Congress – on Wednesday.