Trump Inauguration Update: Jill Stein’s Green Party To Join Inauguration Day Protests

Former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein rang in the New Year announcing her support for the Occupy Inauguration protests organized for Jan. 20 and Jan. 21. The initiative, which has garnered support from a range of groups and movements, including Occupy Wall Street and Veterans For Peace, urges Americans to stand united “against the oligarch and demand representation for the people.”

In a statement on Stein’s campaign website published Monday, the Green Party wrote: “On January 20th, we will join thousands of people and organizations from around the country in Washington D.C. to Occupy Inauguration — sending a message to Trump that we reject his illegitimate presidency from the very start.”

“On January 21st - day one of the Trump administration - we’ll be on Facebook Live with an all-day online forum featuring Greens, social movements, and progressives, sharing resources and inspiration to support resistance and transformation,” the statement read.

The Occupy Inauguration movement, a mass rally and protest scheduled to take place in Washington, said on its website its members opposed Wall Street’s dominance and a “rigged political and economic system.”

“We stand against both the danger [President-elect Donald] Trump represents and the corruption that backed [former presidential nominee Hillary] Clinton. Neither party represents the interests of the 99%,” the group said in a statement.

“The goal of this action is to build a new independent coalition movement for the 99% that stands outside the stranglehold duopoly of the GOP [Republican Party] and DNC [Democratic National Committee],” the group said. “We recognize the establishments of the Republican and Democratic parties to be part of the problem, so we will not be inviting leadership from, or endorsement by them.”

Trump’s Inauguration Day is likely to be met with several protests with multiple groups having planned for peaceful demonstrations across the country. African-American lawmakers announced Tuesday they too have planned for protests ahead of the Jan. 20 event, adding that the real estate mogul was “not a normal incoming president.”

“The stakes are incredibly high and our community is counting on us as the last line of defense between Donald Trump and the worst of what America could offer,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, told Politico.

The DC Counter-Inaugural Welcoming Committee, also called DisruptJ20, has also planned for “a series of massive direct actions that will shut down the Inauguration ceremonies and any related celebrations” on Jan. 20.

“We fully support the massive and spontaneous eruption of resistance across the United States that’s happened since the election. We’re hoping that #DisruptJ20 can help people find each other, connect issues, and be a part of building a movement for a better world. Beyond that, the DC Welcoming Committee doesn’t feel the need to speak on anyone’s behalf. The anger on the streets speaks loudly enough,” the group said in a statement.