Hundreds Gather For #ProtectMueller Protest In St. Louis: Watch

ST. LOUIS, MO — Protesters turned out in the thousands across the county — including in St. Louis — Thursday in response to President Donald Trump's firing of Jeff Sessions, his embattled attorney general. (Sessions says he resigned, but according to the Washington Post, he was forced out.)

Activists have called the appointment of Sessions' former chief of staff, Matthew Whitaker, as acting attorney general a blatant attempt to obstruct an ongoing investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

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Whitaker has publicly criticized the Mueller investigation, echoing Trump in saying that looking into the president's finances would be a "red line" and laying out a plan to defund the Mueller probe during a 2017 appearance on CNN.

"So I could see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replaced with a recess appointment," Whitaker said, according to the Washington Post. "And that attorney general doesn’t fire Bob Mueller, but he just reduces his budget so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt."

Activists said that's exactly what they fear is happening and they gathered in Kiener Plaza in downtown St. Louis Thursday evening to let the president know they find it unacceptable.

"We know everyone is tired, the weather will probably be lousy, parking downtown kind of sucks, and it's a difficult time of day," organizers said in an email Wednesday. "But that's how democracy dies — when complacency and convenience are more powerful than responding to an existential crisis for our nation. Come take a stand against abuse of power!"

Greg Magarian, a constitutional law professor at Washington University, was one of the night's featured speakers. He said he had thought something like this might happen since the summer.

"I guess Trump's a little predictable," he told the crowd of some 200-odd people "All too predictable and here we are."

Magarian called the president a "self servant" rather than a public servant and said he wants to see citizens calling their elected officials and visiting them at their offices, asking them to hold the president accountable.

"I'm so happy to see all of you out here — all of us out here — exercising our First Amendment rights," Magarian continued. "Freedom of speech. Freedom of Assembly. The freedom to petition the government for redress of grievances — and lord we have some grievances."

Outgoing state Rep. Stacey Newman, whose district includes parts of St. Louis County, and her recently-elected successor, Ian Mackey, also spoke at the protest.

"You guys all know the reason that we're standing out here tonight is because we actually believe in the rule of law, right? And we have a president who does not," Newman said. "This is enough. This is not the county that we want to live in."

Newman demanded the Mueller investigation to continue without delay and without interference.

"We demand loyalty to the rule of law, not to Donald Trump," she said.

Watch Patch's livestreams from the demonstration:

Photo: State Rep. Stacey Newman speaks at a #ProtectMueller protest Thursday night in downtown St. Louis. (J. Ryne Danielson/Patch)