Susanne Mavers of Tulsa and Dan Umbarger of Bixby hold signs during a pro-impeachment rally at 21st Street and Utica Avenue in Tulsa on Tuesday. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World
Ian Maule
Travis Burdess of Tulsa holds up an American flag while other protesters hold signs during a pro-impeachment rally at 21st Street and Utica Avenue on Tuesday. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World
Ian Maule
Protesters hold up signs and chant during a pro-impeachment rally at 21st Street and Utica Avenue on Tuesday. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World
Ian Maule
Courtney Spohn of Tulsa signs a letter showing her support of the impeachment of President Donald Trump while holding her son, Issac Jackson, 1, during a pro-impeachment rally. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World
Ian Maule
Michael Tinsley of Tulsa signs a letter showing his support for the impeachment of President Donald Trump during a pro-impeachment rally at 21st Street and Utica Avenue on Tuesday, the day before the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on articles of impeachment. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World
When Millen Kremmer signed up weeks ago to demonstrate in favor of President Donald Trump’s impeachment, he figured he’d be doing it alone.
So he was pretty excited when 150 people he’d never met joined him Tuesday evening at the corner of 21st Street and Utica Avenue to voice their support for Trump’s impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.
“I’m really proud of Oklahoma right now,” said Kremmer, a 19-year-old Northeastern State University sophomore. “This proves there are Oklahomans who are willing to stand out here in the cold and let it be known they’re not happy with the way things have been done.”
To be sure, the 150 is a tiny fraction of the crowd that showed up for Trump’s only campaign appearance in Tulsa almost four years ago. Trump remains popular in the state, and none of the state’s four Republican congressmen expect to suffer any political repercussions for voting against the articles of impeachment when they come to the House floor on Wednesday.
Still, for a more or less impromptu rally for a presumably unpopular cause, and in near-freezing cold, the turnout was a little surprising.
“I did this every Tuesday for two years,” said Susanne Mavers as she held one of the larger signs at the event. “I’d come out during lunch, two other women and me. No one paid any attention.”
The rally was originally scheduled for 1st District Congressman Kevin Hern’s office in the Metroplex Tower but wound up at 21st and Utica, outside a building where U.S. Sen. James Inhofe maintains an office, because several people told Kremmer it would visible to the public and because the corner could better accommodate a large crowd.
“We figured we weren’t going to change (Hern’s or Inhofe’s) mind, but we might get some people’s attention,” Kremmer said.
In fact, the demonstrators wound up occupying at least two corners of the intersection and received a fair number of supportive honks from rush-hour traffic.
The Tulsa rally was one of hundreds across the country, loosely organized under the banner “Nobody Is Above the Law.”
Kremmer said he signed up for a Tulsa event online, thinking not much would come of it. He said he didn’t have the $80 he was told he would need for a permit — he later learned that a permit isn’t necessary — and was busy with finals and other things until he received a call Monday from the national organization.
Susanne Mavers of Tulsa and Dan Umbarger of Bixby hold signs during a pro-impeachment rally at 21st Street and Utica Avenue in Tulsa on Tuesday. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World
Travis Burdess of Tulsa holds up an American flag while other protesters hold signs during a pro-impeachment rally at 21st Street and Utica Avenue on Tuesday. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World
Courtney Spohn of Tulsa signs a letter showing her support of the impeachment of President Donald Trump while holding her son, Issac Jackson, 1, during a pro-impeachment rally. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World
Michael Tinsley of Tulsa signs a letter showing his support for the impeachment of President Donald Trump during a pro-impeachment rally at 21st Street and Utica Avenue on Tuesday, the day before the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on articles of impeachment. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World