by On a swelteringly hot and muggy Saturday, dozens of protesters flocked to the streets of Washington to voice their opposition to the Trump administration’s use of National Guard troops.
To protest the deployment, which the Trump administration has stated was intended to crack down on homelessness and crime in the city, hundreds of people gathered at Dupont Circle for a march through Washington. The National Guard deployment was viewed by many protesters as a misuse of power, and they rejected that rationale.
The protesters, led by the activist group Refuse Fascism, crowded Connecticut Avenue and blocked traffic as they marched to the National Mall. Many were holding signs with inscriptions like “No ICE” and “Trump Must Go Now” while sporting bright orange bandannas. No National Guard!
In a rather calm, cheerful demonstration, the group marched while Metropolitan Police officers on bicycles watched from a distance. Marchers blasted colorful whistles, danced, and sang. One used a portable speaker to blast songs by artists headquartered in Washington, D.C. Drivers honked in encouragement as the mob screamed and cheered. Residents of Washington and its suburbs made up a large portion of the protesters, who claimed to have come to defend their home area.
The 61-year-old Robin Galbraith expressed her hope that the current situation would highlight the District of Columbia’s need for statehood. “Federal lawmakers, especially Republicans, have far too frequently used the district as a pawn for their own agenda,” she added.
Ms. Galbraith, a retired schoolteacher who has lived in the area her entire life, claimed that Trump is assaulting her city in an attempt to divert attention from all that is wrong with his government.
29-year-old Sam Luban, who has lived in the nation’s capital for nearly six years, claimed to have accepted the city as her own and said that people who don’t appreciate its beauty occasionally unfairly disparage it. The majority of the district’s population are liberal, and she noted that this week had been a tense period.
According to Ms. Luban, the city despises the current government, but it must endure it. It is currently under attack.
Ms. Luban held a painted cardboard banner that said, “I did it,” over her head as she marched along Connecticut Avenue. According to Justice Department employee Sean C. Dunn, who tossed a sub-style sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection officer last weekend, “I threw the sandwich.” According to Ms. Luban, some locals view Mr. Dunn, who was fired from his job and accused of attacking a federal police, as a sort of folk hero.
According to her, he has turned into a local legend, and that is what D.C. is all about.
Sandwiches seemed to be a recurring theme in the demonstration. Ms. Luban and other protesters drew them on signs. Others chose the real thing: To the surprise of some and confusion of at least one onlooker who asked out loud why someone would bring a baguette to a demonstration, at least two marchers raised real sandwiches in the air.
Tension momentarily erupted as protesters moved between the White House and the Washington Monument, with some berating National Guard soldiers positioned in front of a military vehicle. A few protesters swore and called the Guard members traitors.
Bicycle-wielding police officers who had been monitoring the demonstration stepped in and created a barrier between the crowd and the troops. After the tension subsided, the protest continued, joining a small group of protesters who had already been at the White House.
One of them, Robin Matthewman, a 68-year-old former foreign service officer, was delighted to be protesting a police state while holding a sign.
Outside the White House, U.S. Secret Service officials and the U.S. Park Police arrested at least one person. What might have led to the arrest was unclear.
The march on Saturday was one of dozens that liberal organizations like the Free D.C. Project have organized in the city over the past week. Other cities across the nation, including Austin, Texas, New York, and Chicago, saw additional Democratic protests on Saturday. They banded together to oppose a Texas redistricting plan that would give Republicans five more seats in Congress.
From Washington, Anushka Patil and Eric Lee provided reporting assistance.
