To the gates of Mar-a-Lago, about 100 people walked along the road of the Palm Beach shoreline carrying their handmade signs and chanting rhymes calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
The Impeachment March, a nationwide protest, made its mark on the steps of the winter White House. Two protest groups, United Against Trump Pence and Pop Up Protest South Florida, spent about two weeks planning the local march, said Mark Offerman, an organizer with Pop Up. Offerman, 43, of Wellington, with megaphone in hand, led the front of the single-file march about 6:30 p.m. Sunday along the small strip of grass next to a road lined with mansions. But not too far behind the protesters, about half as many Trump supporters, some on their own, others with Zone 6 of The Three Percenters, yelled back at the chants against the president while carrying large Trump campaign and American flags.
“We need a leader — not a creepy tweeter!” the protesters yelled, and, “No Donald Trump, no KKK, no racist USA!”
As the group marched for about 30 minutes to their destination, people drove by either giving a fist up in support and yelling back encouragement or angrily honking while giving a thumbs down.
Either way, the protesters yelled, “Park your car and join us!”
Offerman said it was important to bring the march to Palm Beach because “we have an off-season resident who treats this place as his own personal trash bin.” As long as Trump is in the position, he said he planned to resist him in any legal way possible. He said he was happy with the turnout of protesters and Trump supporters alike.
“It’s their right just as much as it’s our right to protest,” he said. “But we’re confident that we’re the ones in the right to defend our nation.”
Kevin Haas, 46, of West Palm Beach, also stood in the front of the pack. Walking to Mar-a-Lago was going to a landmark, and they were coming arm-in-arm to send a message, he said. Every time Trump comes to Palm Beach County, it’s a burden on the taxpayers.
Haas said he was tired of Trump lying — who is paying for the wall, supporting the LGBTQ+ community and not touching the Affordable Care Act, he said, were examples.
“He’s a con artist. He would make $20 on his mother if he could,” Haas said.
One of the youngest legal voters in the group, Ellie Brodrick, 18, of Greenacres, walked in the middle of the group with her mom. She couldn’t vote in the last election, but she’s been showing up to protests and marches until she can cast her own vote.
“Your parents must be so proud!” one of the Trump supporters yelled at her.
“They are — my mom’s right here,” she laughed back at them.
“Change needs to happen,” she said. “To do that, we have to speak up.”
Wearing an army-green outfit and holding an American flag, Scott Jones, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, was The Three Percenters Zone 6 leader. He organized his group to show Palm Beach an opposition to the Impeachment March and respect for the president.
“What angers me is their hypocrisy,” he said. “As for ending up in front of Mar-a-Lago, it’s poetic justice.”
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