A group trying to get California, one of the most prosperous states, to secede from the United States said the results of the presidential election give their cause new momentum, reports The Los Angeles Times newspaper.
As they held a protest outside the state Capitol on Wednesday night, members of the Yes California Independence Campaign said they want Californians to vote on the issue, according to the report published on Wednesday.
Their aim is a 2018 ballot initiative to force a 2019 special election, the newspaper added.
"The relationship between California and the federal system just isn't working," Marcus Ruiz Evans, vice president of YesCalifornia.org, was quoted to have said.
He said the money California pays in federal taxes isn't adequately supporting aging infrastructure and public programmes in the state.
Evans and about a dozen other supporters paced the sidewalk in front of the Capitol on Wednesday evening, chanting "What do we want? Calexit! When do we want it? Now!"
Yes California was one of several groups protesting the outcome of the election at the Capitol on Wednesday evening.
Evans said the Yes California group planned the event months in advance and would have protested regardless of the result. But he said Donald Trump's victory Tuesday strengthened their case and generated additional support.
"Now that America chose Trump, no one is debating with us that America is failing," Evans said. "So then the question becomes, do you want to go down with the sinking ship, knowing that you have a ship that's able to sail the international economy on its own?"
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