Protesters Rally Against Border Wall On City-County Building Steps
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Protesters in Pittsburgh joined with others across the country on Monday afternoon for a demonstration against President Donald Trump's border wall.
The Women's March on Washington-Pittsburgh chapter organized the event, and others like it were expected to take place in other cities.
The rally is being called "Fake Crisis, No Racist Wall" protest.
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Organizers are calling the wall an "abuse of power which is a direct assault on persons of color, immigrants, and those whose primary language is not English."
Last week, President Trump declared a national emergency in an effort to get funds for a border wall, one of his campaign promises. However, the declaration is expected to face many legal challenges.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto made a surprise appearance at the rally. Speaking to the crowd, he said the country is facing many challenges, but a border wall is not the answer to any of them.
"I'm here to declare that we are in a state of emergency, and that emergency is an opioid epidemic that is tearing families apart, and we need help from Washington. That emergency is gun violence that stole the life of an honors student in Homewood just because he was playing a video game inside his house, and we need help from Washington," said Mayor Peduto. "Our emergency is our infrastructure that's falling apart, and we need help from Washington. Our emergency is dealing with the daily crisis of climate change, and we need help from Washington."
The protest began at noon on the steps of the City-County Building.