APPLE VALLEY >> Residents of the 8th Congressional District held mock vigils for Rep. Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley, whom they’ve declared missing after he chose not to hold any town hall meetings during Congress’ break last week.

“I’m not a fringe agitator, I’m not a crazy left-wing person, I’m pretty moderate,” protester Aaron Goodwin, who said he voted for Cook, told the crowd. “I find Donald J. Trump reprehensible.”

Goodwin said he objected to President Trump’s policies on religious and constitutional grounds, as well as Trump’s repeated support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A simultaneous protest was scheduled for Cook’s hometown of Yucca Valley, 60 miles away. Both protests were held by chapters of Indivisible, one of a collection of new liberal groups adopting tea party tactics to oppose the agenda of Trump and fellow Republicans.

Tuesday afternoon, almost 100 Indivisible protesters lit candles outside Cook’s Apple Valley office, singing songs and calling for Cook to be found. (His actual whereabouts aren’t in question, as Congress returned to session this week, and Cook was expected to attend Trump’s speech to Congress Tuesday evening.)

• Photos: 8th District Residents Hold Candle Light Vigil for “Missing” Rep. Paul Cook

“I stand here today, alive, because of the Affordable Care Act,” High Desert resident Rhonda Ralson told the crowd.

She suffers from chronic sarcoidosis, a rare immune system disorder. Her condition means she’s never far from her wheelchair or oxygen tank, and she has already exceeded the life expectancy for those diagnosed with the chronic version of the disorder by several years.

“I will die if the Affordable Care Act is repealed and I no longer have its protections,” Ralson said.

Protesters carried signs imploring “Dear Moscow, please release Paul Cook,” demanding a “Town Hall Now, Congressman Cook” and declaring that the GOP’s replacement for the Affordable Care Act was “Sick? Poor? Just die!”

Republican members of Congress who have met with their constituents in open town hall meetings in February have gotten an earful, especially regarding planned cuts to the Affordable Care Act (also known as “Obamacare”), funding for Planned Parenthood and their overall support for Trump’s agenda. As of Tuesday, Paul Cook has voted 100 percent in line with Trump’s stated positions, according to website FiveThirtyEight.

Earlier in February, Indivisible put Cook’s face on milk cartons and jugs, evoking the campaigns of the 1980s and early 1990s to find missing and abducted children.

“Rep. Cook believes in an open and productive dialogue with constituents, and there are many ways to express an opinion to him,” Cook’s spokesman, Michael Fresquez, wrote in a statement issued in response to the milk carton campaign. “This year, despite his hectic schedule, Cook has met with veterans, off-roaders, conservationists and active duty troops — among many others.”

The congressman is not in a hurry to meet with members of Indivisible, however.

“He will continue meeting with constituent groups just as he has in the past — including those which disagree with him, but do so in a constructive manner,” Fresquez wrote. “Unfortunately, the main local agitators demanding a town hall seek not a dialogue but a platform to espouse an extreme political agenda that was resoundingly rejected in California’s 8th Congressional District, both in Rep. Cook’s re-election and in the presidential vote. He will not allow fringe groups of any type to dictate the political discourse.”

On Tuesday, protesters objected to Cook’s office characterizing them as “extremists” or a “fringe group.”

“Do we have any ‘local agitators’ here?” protest organizer T.C. Corrigan asked the crowd, which cheered.

The candlelight vigil won’t be the last time they hold the congressman’s feet to the fire, he said.

“The plan is to schedule a town hall” for Congress’ April recess, Corrigan said. “If he doesn’t show up, we’ll address our concerns to an empty chair.”

While Indivisible members wait for Cook to hold a town hall meeting, 8th District resident and Indivisible member Melissa Spurr has reached out to another Paul Cook, the former drummer of the Sex Pistols.

“We hope to replace Congressman Cook, but in the meantime, if we can’t have a better congressman, perhaps we can have a better Paul Cook,” Spurr’s Feb. 27 letter to the musician reads in part. “As a punk rock pioneer, I’m sure you’re well-acquainted with life on the fringe. So, on behalf of the good and decent agitators of California’s 8th District, I cordially invite you to be our Honorary Fringe Representative. It wouldn’t require much on your part, but we would warmly welcome you if you ever decided to visit your honorary constituents. We have some legendary music venues here, where you — and your friend Steve Jones — would be greeted with a tidal wave of fanfare should you decide to show up and play. Perhaps we could call it our ‘Fringe Town Hall.’ ”

No information about the location of Paul Cook, the musician, was immediately available Tuesday.