Photo by Jolene Almendarez/The Ithaca Voice
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Protesters from several organizations have begun arriving at Coltivare Restaurant in downtown Ithaca to protest presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's stance on various national issues.
Many of the supporters -- about two dozen and growing as of about 7:30 a.m. -- said they are representing various groups from the Tompkins County area.
"It's not really a Sanders rally," said protester Richard Franke, though he said many of the protesters would likely vote for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
He said he was at the rally to protest Hillary Clinton's foreign policies.
"Her judgement on Middle East issues has shown, again and again, to be very faulty," he said.
Photo by Jolene Almendarez/The Ithaca Voice
Specifically, he and fellow protester Barbara Chasin, from the town of Ithaca, said they are against the drone program and civilian casualties from bombings in the middle east.
Chasin added that the two are also against Clinton's "uncritical support or Israel."
Anti-frackers and people who want to encourage the United States' move away from dependence on fossil fuels are also turning out in huge numbers.
Theresa Alt, who currently lives in Collegetown but has resided in the area for almost 40 years, said she is at the event to raise awareness about the different take on such issues between Clinton and Sanders.
"The important thing is us getting this county off fossil fuels as fast as possible," she said. "There's a real difference (between candidates) on this extremely central issue."
She said Sanders has advocated for the elimination of fracking while Clinton has called for more strict regulation, instead.