ROANOKE, Va. – Confronting what they call corruption and demanding democracy, more than a dozen people in Roanoke joined a nationwide candlelight vigil Wednesday in protest of the Trump administration.
This week's meeting in Helsinki between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin sparked the idea for the vigil.
Many who attended the event in Roanoke say Trump's handling of the summit left them with a sense of urgency.
“There's been international committees that have said we aren't really a true democracy right now, so we're on the brink of losing our democracy unless we stand up for it, so we're standing up for it,” said Freeda Cathcart, founder of Indivisible Virginia.
Hundreds of vigils took place across the country Wednesday night, including larger gatherings in Washington, D.C., and New York.