Protesters against the acquittal of Donald Trump posed with their signs they hand-made for the rally. OBSERVER Photo by Natasha Matteliano.

On Wednesday, protesters gathered on the Fredonia Village Hall front steps to share their thoughts on President Trump’s acquittal.

This rally was one of many across the country. According to the Common Cause of New York, there were more than 250 protests going on across the whole country.

The protests were all planned as “Reject the Cover-Up” rallies,

wanting to hold Trump and GOP Senators accountable for a “sham trial” and “setting off a crisis of democracy,” according to Common Cause of New York.

“Protesters in New York and other states will send a clear message to Trump and to Republican lawmakers who orchestrated his sham impeachment trial,” said an email from Common Cause of New York. “Any ‘acquittal’ made after blocking key evidence is not an exoneration — it’s a cover-up.”

There were several events planned in New York, including in New York City, Albany, Beacon, Kingston, Patchogue and Syracuse. This list doesn’t include the smaller towns who organized rallies.

The Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Women’s Action Group, which was founded by a group of local women who traveled to participate in the first Women’s March on Washington, was the local sponsor of Fredonia’s rally on Wednesday.

With about 40 people present with their hand-made signs, they stood on the Village Hall steps and protested. They were singing songs, waving their American flags and encouraging friendly honks.

As expected, not all the honks were friendly. One Trump supporter in a truck came around the block two times to yell at the protesters, “The crooked Democrats will get the hell out,” “Trump 2020! Yeehaw!” and “Donald Trump is still your president!”

Across the street from Village Hall stood some Trump ralliers, waving a Trump 2020 flag and cheering when they got supportive yells from vehicles.

The large group of protesters then moved to the gazebo in downtown Fredonia. One of the leaders of the rally read off some quotes she had received from national organizers of the rallies.

“The House of Representatives impeached Donald Trump for breaking the law by using military aid to pressure Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election. … Instead of taking accountability for his law-breaking, the White House and Senate Republicans held a sham trial that blocked testimony from first-hand witnesses, as well as dozens of incriminating emails.”

“As a result, any acquittal is meaningless. It won’t be seen as an exoneration, it will be seen as a cover-up! There are only two things we can do now — turn out to the election in overwhelming numbers to throw them out of office and take to the streets.”

At about 5:50 p.m., the protesters started to march around Barker Commons. While they were marching around the park, the group was chanting different sayings, like “Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go!” “The people united, will never be defeated!” and “Reject the cover-up, lock him up!”

The rally lasted about two hours long, with supporters from both sides being present. The peaceful protest seemed to go well, for both groups were happy with the turnout.