WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Thousands of anti-tax protesters gathered Saturday at the U.S. Capitol in the largest anti-government demonstration since President Obama took office.
The huge rally was the final stop for the Tea Party Express, which started in Sacramento, Calif., and has held demonstrations in 30 cities across the country, CNN reported.
While Washington police had no estimate on how many people attended, the crowd took three hours to march from the White House to the Capitol, The New York Times said. The organizers described the demonstration as non-partisan, but Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress were the target of speeches, placards and chants.
Dick Armey, the former Republican majority leader in the House, now heads Freedomworks, a group that helped organize the rally.
"He pledged a commitment of fidelity to the United States Constitution," Armey said of the president as the crowd responded by chanting, "Liar, liar."
The demonstrators carried signs reading, "Congress: are you stoned or just stupid? Please wake up and save America," "We are under attack by our own government" and "Our Constitution has termites!"
"We're here to let the government know that we do not want government involvement in our healthcare, nor do we want the higher taxation that comes along with such a proposal," one protester told CNN.
As the marchers rallied in Washington, Obama was flying to Minneapolis to stump for his healthcare reform agenda. In his weekly address, he warned that failure to institute reforms would result in nearly half of all Americans under age 65 possibly losing their health coverage at some point in the next decade.
