Rally Calls For S.C. Gov. To Resign

A small crowd of protesters met on the South Carolina Capitol steps Thursday to call on Gov. Mark Sanford to resign.

"He needs to resign because it's the honorable thing to do," said protester Eugene Booker.

Democrat Phil Noble said it's about lost trust.

"He broke the trust of the people of this state, and that's the key to why Mark Sanford needs to resign," he said.

The event was entirely organized online by Marilyn Hemingway of Seneca, S.C. Hemingway started a Facebook page back in January called "Impeach Mark Sanford." She was upset then about the governor's battle over state unemployment benefits, and then his refusal to accept $700 million in stimulus money.

"I just put the Facebook page up thinking maybe 200 people would be interested," Hemingway told Eyewitness News. “It just blew up from there."

Her Facebook page now claims 6,000 members, but after a call to protest Thursday afternoon, only about 30 showed up at the State House.

Hemingway said she hoped for at least 200 people, but she said the important thing is to get the message out, and then Sanford should willingly leave office or be impeached.

"He left for six days, and no one knew where he was. He had no contact with his staff. And he took an oath of office that I think he broke," she said.

After confessing to an affair and admitting he misled the people of South Carolina about where he was, Sanford said he won't step down as governor.

Last week, the State Law Enforcement Division, known as SLED, found no criminal wrong doing on Sanford's part. Investigating found he did not use any public money to finance trips to Argentina and New York to see his mistress.

Thursday afternoon, Sanford issued a short statement about the planned protest. It came from his chief spokesman Joel Sawyer.

"The governor recognizes that he has work to do in building back the trust of South Carolinians, and he is committed to doing so," he said.

VIDEO: Rally Gets Under Way At State House