Protesters gathered at Courthouse Square Park in Rockville on Monday as part of a nationwide effort by grassroots group MoveOn to speak out against the national emergency declared by President Donald Trump.
MoveOn, a liberal public policy advocacy PAC, had nearly 300 events scheduled across the country on Presidents Day, with participants encouraged to march through the streets while documenting their actions on social media using the hashtag “FakeNationalEmergency.”
About 75 people showed up in Rockville across from the Montgomery County Circuit Court building, which was closed for the federal holiday.
MoveOn member Cheri Borsky organized the event, her second in as many years.
Last year’s march, also on Presidents Day, required some persuading by Borsky and her team, but she said this year MoveOn was entirely on board and the turnout was greater. The 2018 protest stemmed from the firing of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and reports of Trump’s interference in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian government interference.
“We are making progress, we really are,” Borsky said. “This is a big difference.”
Trump declared the national emergency on Friday in an effort to access funds to build a wall on the border with Mexico. MoveOn quickly mobilized forces to protest, involving local groups as well.
“This is a constitutional power grab by our president,” Indivisible Montgomery Executive Director Chris Pickett said. “This wall is nothing more than a monument to his ego and his racism.”
Indivisible Montgomery is a group “concerned about the Trump agenda becoming reality” formed shortly after the president’s election, according to the group’s website.
Pickett said the country should be addressing concerns such as gun violence, climate change, reuniting families separated at border and helping the people of Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria.
Protesters carried signs, balloons and bells as they strode along Route 355. The group made a brief stop in front of the office of U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) before marching through Rockville Town Center and back to Courthouse Square.
Signs included slogans “Truth Matters,” “Stop the wall! Welcome asylum seekers” and “Immigrants make America great,” as well as a detailed sketch of the president and his proposed wall surrounded with words like antisemitism, misogyny and xenophobia.
“This makes The Purge look sane,” said protester Cheryl Washer, as Borsky discussed the currently state of society.
The march drew some onlookers throughout the half-empty Rockville Town Center, but proceeded without incident. Two Rockville Police Department cars were parked near Courthouse Square to keep an eye on the event, but left once the march got underway.
Borsky said she hoped the nationwide display would “put a scare in [Trump] to slow down some actions.”
“We stand against the xenophobia of the wall’s idea,” Borsky said. “We stand against opening state of emergency powers for a situation which the administration has not provided data.”
