San Diegans protest Trump acquittal

Local activists took to San Diego-area streets Wednesday afternoon to protest President Donald Trump’s acquittal in his impeachment trial in the Senate.

They were among many liberal or Democratic activists nationwide who responded to the acquittal with protests Wednesday.

The San Diego chapter of Indivisible, a progressive, volunteer-led organization, gathered people on several street corners, from Harbor Drive to East County. About 40 people came to the corner of Sixth and University avenues in Hillcrest.

The protest garnered a steady stream of supportive honks from drivers in the overwhelmingly Democratic neighborhood.

Nancy Cottingham, 70, of San Diego, is an organizer with Indivisible. She said people came out because they believe Trump “got away with something terrible.”

“If you make these decisions about what is okay, then there will be a president in the future that will violate (the law) even further,” Cottingham said.

The group chanted slogans such as “sham trial, not above the law” and “come November, we will remember.”

Katie Grogan, 32, of San Diego, said Wednesday’s demonstration was her first protest. She said she felt it was time to “get her voice out there.”

“I wanted to contribute some way to making sure justice is served in our country,” she said. “I want to do my part.”

Grogan said she expected the Senate result but was surprised by Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who broke with his fellow Republicans and voted to convict Trump on the abuse of power charge.

“I’m proud of him for doing that,” she said. “I wish more Republicans would have done that, but they don’t want to convict a guilty person.”

Joanne Britton, 69, of San Diego, said she thought what Trump was convicted of in the House — charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — was worse that what President Richard M. Nixon was accused of during the Watergate scandal.

“Trying to extort and blackmail a vulnerable ally in Ukraine is so much worse than what Nixon did trying to manipulate elections domestically,” she said. “(Then), Republicans stood up and said, ‘We can’t allow this.’ And now, the Republican Party does everything they can to make Trump king.”

Each of the protesters the Union-Tribune spoke with said they had their own preferences in the presidential race but will support any Democrat who wins the nomination.

There were no counter-demonstrators on the Hillcrest street corner.