Robert De Niro Leads NYC Crowd in Expletive Chant Against Trump Voter Roll Review

Actor Robert De Niro appeared alongside Mark Ruffalo at a New York City rally over the weekend protesting the Trump administration’s effort to review and clean up state voter rolls.

The event, called “Hands Off Our Vote,” was organized by the groups Indivisible and Hands Off NYC. De Niro led attendees in a repeated chant: “Keep your fucking hands off our vote!”

Addressing the crowd, De Niro said, “When that coward, that fucking piece of shit Donald Trump tries to take our voice and power away, what do we tell him?” He then continued, “Now with your commitment and support… we’re gonna send him away!” He closed by leading the crowd in chanting, “Take back the House! Yes! Take back the Senate! Yes! Take back the power! Yes! Take back our country! Yes!”

De Niro told the rally that Trump was trying to strip the vote from left-wing Democrats.

What the Trump administration is actually doing

The Department of Justice has requested voter roll data from states as part of an effort to cross-check rolls for noncitizens. Officials say the review has two primary aims: removing ineligible voters, including people who have died or moved out of state, and identifying noncitizens or illegal voters who should not be on the rolls at all.

In July, the White House alleged that more than a quarter of a million foreign nationals illegally voted in recent U.S. elections. The DOJ has pointed to that figure as justification for its review.

The department has also made arrests tied to the effort. Sixteen migrants were recently arrested for allegedly voting illegally in U.S. elections, authorities say, after using false information to pose as citizens in order to cast ballots.

No legally registered American voter has been shown to have had their ballot access removed as a result of the administration’s voter roll review.