Last week's protest in Annapolis against Gov. Hogan's silence while his GOP counterpart in DC, Trump, tramples rights is covered by a new online news outlet run by UMCP student-journalists -- the Beltway Bulletin.

/By Asia Hester/Beltway Bulletin/ — Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Lawyer’s Mall near the governor’s home in Annapolis Saturday to call on Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to stand against President Donald Trump and denounce the travel ban of seven majority Muslim countries and other policies of the Trump administration.

Protesters marched around Lawyer’s Mall as they chanted “Tell me what democracy looks like, This is what democracy looks like.” Others held up “Where is Larry Hogan?” signs and posters supporting immigration and the Affordable Care Act.

Many Democratic leaders and organizations came out to make their voices heard. Former senior policy advisor to the Obama administration and event organizer Kyle Lierman said Hogan’s leadership in the Republican Party is important.

“We need those people to understand that this isn’t about partisan politics,” Lierman said. “A vast majority of Marylanders are not in favor of what Donald Trump is doing, in fact, we need Larry Hogan to represent us.”

 In Hogan’s Feb. 1 state address, he focused on improving the state by reforming crime, employment and education and strengthening bipartisanship in the Maryland General Assembly to help find solutions for other issues in the state.

Protesters and residents said they felt that Hogan has been silent about President Trump since the election and the actions of his three-week old administration.

“For the governor of Maryland to not even come out and be so solidly silent tells that he’s silently with the Trump agenda,” said Hena Zuberi, a reporter for The Muslim Link newspaper.

“We need leadership, we don’t need political gains,” she said.

Larry Stafford, executive director for Progressive Maryland, is concerned that Trump’s policies will affect Maryland’s diverse population.

“In our state we have the values to promote inclusivity, to promote peace and love, harmony amongst all people,” Stafford said. “We want to see a state that stands up against the federal government.”

Asia Hester is a junior-year journalism student at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at UMCP and a writer for the new online news source, the Beltway Bulletin, produced by student journalists.