A group of people gathered around Toomer’s Corner on Thursday as a part of a protest against President Donald Trump’s recent decision to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Following Sessions' forced resignation, Matthew Whitaker, the acting attorney general, replaced Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in supervising Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
The protesters Thursday said the new oversight — by someone with a history of criticizing the probe — could negatively affect the independence of the investigation. Whitaker has written critically of Mueller's investigation.
One protester, Donna Sullie, expressed concern about Trump's actions.
“It concerns me that part of his plan is to shut down the Mueller investigation and about the impact of these decisions,” said Sullie.
All age groups were represented at the protest, from small children with their families, to adults and students.
Matt Gonzales, graduate student in clinical mental health counseling, also criticized the president's decision to fire Sessions.
“Jeff Sessions had recused himself; therefore Rod Rosenstein was the one over seeing it," Gonzales said. "Now it is Whitaker, who has shown very outright anti-Mueller sentiment. We believe everyone should be held to the accord of the law."
The gathering in Auburn Thursday was part of a nationwide network of protests organized by MoveOn.org speaking out against Sessions' firing and Whitaker's new role overseeing the investigation.
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