Hundreds protest outside event with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
Protestors demand action at Black History Month event in Oakland with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was invited to speak at an event held at Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts on Friday night. Hundreds of protestors gathered outside to demand that the congressman and other Democratic law makers do more to stop the Trump administration from harming vulnerable communities.
Oakland - Hundreds of protesters turned out in Oakland on Friday night demanding that Democratic lawmakers do more to oppose President Donald Trump.
They directed their attention to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries from New York, who's in Oakland for a public event in honor of Black History Month.
Protesters said they wanted answers and action. Jeffries did not interact with protesters.
During the event, he spoke about the fight to get things done even with a Republican majority in both Houses.
"Donald Trump is not king, and we will never bend the knee," said Jeffries, who received applause from an audience of 1,400.
He spoke at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts.
He pulled no punches when talking about Trump and his administration.
"The flood of extremism that the parade of horribles represents who they are and to discourage all of us, the American people," said Jeffries.
His speech was part of a lecture series by former Congresswoman Barbara Lee and former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris. The theme is "Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community."
"They want us to step back, but we're going to fight back," said Jeffries.
A poll by SurveyUSA found that 60% of Democrats believe their lawmakers are not doing enough to oppose Trump.
"I don't see them doing anything of relevance," said Ramona Robinson of Pittsburg, who participated in the protest and also attended Jeffries's speech. "What I want them to do is to make a bunch of noise, stall out actions, listen to what the people want."
"We're scared. We're frightened of what Trump is doing. He's got to be stopped," said Sue Benson of Lafayette, who came to listen to Jeffries.
Outside, a large and loud protest greeted those attending the event.
Many held signs calling on Jeffries and other democratic lawmakers to take action against President Trump.
"We have to fight back, not just with laws, with speeches or through our standard procedures. This is unprecedented. We have an attempted coup, an attempted takeover of our government," said Allyssa Victory, a civil rights attorney who participated in the protest.
Before the event, protesters tried to speak with Congresswoman Lateefah Simon as she arrived at the event. She acknowledged the protesters during her speech.
"We go into battle. We withhold our votes. We educate our people, and we sue the hell out of this administration every damn day," said Simon.
Jeffries pointed out that the Republicans are the majority in the house by a slim margin: 218 to 215 Democrats.
"We need two or three Republicans to do the right thing, and we can stop all of this bad stuff from happening," said Jeffries.
The protesters were loud, but peaceful. Another national poll found that 79% of Republican voters approve of their lawmakers.
Organizers of the protest say this is only the beginning and there will be plenty more demonstrations to come.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU