Bill Bekkenhuis sat in a folding chair at the street corner as daylight faded from the sky. Two lines of dozens of people extended in each direction down the sidewalk.

"I'm a Republican," he said, followed by laugh. "And I've been drawn to this."

Bekkenhuis was the organizer of the protest around him Thursday evening, where people from all over the Lehigh Valley waved signs from the edges of Bethlehem's Rose Garden, at the busy intersection of Union Boulevard and Eighth Avenue.

They demanded that Congress protect special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into President Donald Trump -- a Republican for whom Bekkenhuis has no love.

The man in the chair said he's not much of an organizer, really. The demonstration was planned months ago. All Bekkenhuis did was put a pin on a map on the "Mueller Firing Rapid Response" website set up through MoveOn.org, amid fears that Trump could move to halt the Mueller investigation into Trump's alleged Russia connections.

The roughly hourlong Bethlehem rally numbered some 200 people at its peak. It was just one of more than 900 nationwide listed on the website. Another was planned outside Republican Sen. Pat Toomey's Allentown office, as well as others in Jim Thorpe, Reading and Flemington. All were to begin at the same time, 5 p.m., whenever a date was selected.

They waited for a "red line" to be crossed -- something they felt would jeopardize the special counsel.

That happened Wednesday. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was forced out of office, and his chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, was named acting attorney general. Whitaker has questioned the inquiry's scope and spoke publicly before joining the Justice Department about ways an attorney general could theoretically stymie the investigation.

The investigation has produced 32 criminal charges and guilty pleas from four former Trump aides. But the work is not done, and critical decisions await that could shape the remainder of Trump's presidency.

"Nobody is above the law," said Sue Bazy, of Nazareth, during the peaceful Bethlehem protest. She signed up for to participate months ago.

So did Liz Brensinger, of New Tripoli. "It's just a really frightening time for our democracy," she said.

Minerva Ortiz, of Easton, just found out about it the night before, but said she felt she had to participate. "Trump doesn't respect the law," she said.

Congressional Democrats, concerned about protecting Mueller, have called on Whitaker to recuse himself from overseeing the investigation in its final but potentially explosive stages.

Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat who won re-election in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, said Wednesday evening in a Twitter thread that Congress must protect the Mueller investigation.

Pressuring and forcing Attorney General Sessions to resign is an unacceptable effort to interfere with the chain of command in the Russia investigation. This is part of President Trump’s pattern of obstructing Special Counsel Mueller’s independent investigation. — Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) November 7, 2018

He has attempted to fire, demand loyalty of and interfere with any official investigating Russia’s attack on our nation during the 2016 election. — Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) November 7, 2018

Now, President Trump is removing his own Attorney General in order to install a lapdog who will do what he has called for repeatedly- end or hamstring an independent investigation that is vital to our national security. — Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) November 7, 2018

Congress must immediately act to protect Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation from interference by this Administration. — Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) November 7, 2018

Toomey, Pennsylvania's Republican senator, at a separate event on Thursday afternoon, said the investigation needs no special protection.

"The president could have done anything he wanted for many, many months now and has chosen not to. I think the president understands that it's best for Bob Mueller to finish his investigation," Toomey told reporters. However, he added, "I also think it's about time they wrap this up."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveNovakLVL and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.