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Downtown Demonstrators Call For Protection Of Mueller Probe

The removal of Jeff Sessions as attorney general has some Americans worried about the Robert Muller investigation into Russian election interference. The activist group Move On called people to action Thursday night for the Nobody Is Above the Law movement.

Cincinnati co-organizer Christy Cooper says they want acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to recuse himself from the investigation. "The bottom line is we want a stable, fair democracy. We want the rule of law to stand, and that's what we're fighting for."

Demonstrators met in Piatt Park. At the base of the William Henry Harrison statue, Aftab Pureval took a megaphone and addressed the crowd. "We were attacked in 2016 by a hostile foreign government, and no one in D.C. seems to care. That's why your activism is so important, for the single truth that in this country, no one is above the law."

Pureval's bid for Ohio's first congressional district seat failed earlier in the week.

The day after the November general election, President Donald Trump reportedly requested Jeff Sessions' resignation. Trump appointed Sessions' chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, as the acting attorney general.

Mason Urban says putting Whitaker in an oversight position for the Mueller investigation is problematic. "He has been on the record against the Mueller probe. His solution is going to be to try to starve it out. The plan seems to be they're going to try to cut funding."

Demonstrator Kathleen Meyers knows Democrats won control of the House of Representatives Tuesday, but she says the threat to the Constitution can't wait for them to take office in January. "Because we know that the president feels that he has the ability to fire everybody, and he's unpredictable. I think that that's what this is about, is that we realize that our democracy is at stake."

Karen Zanger says Democratic oversight would be good, but admits it's a long time until January, when Democrats will take control of the House. "As we know in this administration all kinds of you-know-what can go down in a matter of hours."

People chanted "Rule of law, not rule of Trump" and "Stand up, Congress. Do your job," as they marched to the Potter Stewart Federal Courthouse and back.

Kathleen Meyers cautioned fellow demonstrators not to jaywalk during the march, telling them, "Nobody is above the law."

To see more pictures from the march, click the photo above. 

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Clerk of Courts Aftab Pureval addressed the crowd before the march.
Bill RInehart / WVXU
/
WVXU
Clerk of Courts Aftab Pureval addressed the crowd before the march.
March organizers were adamant about staying on sidewalks, so as not to interrupt traffic.
Bill Rinehart / WVXU
/
WVXU
March organizers were adamant about staying on sidewalks, so as not to interrupt traffic.

Rinehart has been a radio reporter since 1994 with positions in markets like Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska; Sioux City, Iowa; Dayton, Ohio: and most recently as senior correspondent and anchor for Cincinnati’s WLW-AM.
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