Star Tribune: Hundreds Rally at Minnesota State Capitol in Defense of Mueller Investigation

Under twinkling lights outside the Minnesota State Capitol, several hundred people braved Thursday night’s frigid weather to rally in support of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 national elections.

“When we talk about holding power accountable, that means no one is above the law,” Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera, executive director of Common Cause Minnesota, told the crowd. “That requires justice to not just be blind, but nonpartisan.”

The protest was one of many nationwide sparked by President Donald Trump’s firing Wednesday of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whose recusal from the Mueller investigation had long angered his boss. Trump replaced Sessions with a longtime ally, Matthew Whitaker, as acting attorney general.

Activists demanded that Whitaker recuse himself and called on lawmakers in Washington to support Senate and House bills that would protect Mueller’s investigation.

They listened to speakers, chanted, “Rule of law,” sang “America the Beautiful” and “This Land Is Your Land,” and carried signs with a variety of slogans and demands.

“We the people are the ultimate power within our democracy,” Belladonna-Carrera yelled to those bundled on the Capitol steps as light snow fell.