WASHINGTON — Still bleary eyed from election night, nearly a hundred activists from more than 10 different groups gathered at Union Station Wednesday to begin a day of peaceful protest. The demonstrations targeted entities that organizers described as “enablers” of the Trump administration.
“I can’t imagine doing anything else today,” Andrew Sobey, with Extinction Rebellion DC, said.“We believe in direct action, but not violence. We have de-escalators in our group, we have police liaisons in our group.”
The activists emerged from Union Station just before noon carrying signs, floats, and dressed in costumes, ready to make their voices heard on police reform, climate change and holding elected leaders accountable for a fair election process.
“We need to be here in these streets to make sure our leaders are counting every single vote,” Jamie Vindn, from Sunrise Movement DC, said. “They’ve been denying the climate crisis and the economic crisis that we’re in and the most marginalized people among us will be hurt the most. So, we are calling people to rise up to continue to put focus and pressure on our officials and our elected.”
The group sang songs and marched to the music. They circled the block to the nearby Fox News Building, surrounded by police standing guard. The protestors chanted, “Fox News, you can’t hide – we can see your greedy side!”
As the group made its way to the Republican National Committee Headquarters, the crowd started calling out the names of young black men who lost their lives to confrontations with DC Police.
The protestors continued staging actions outside the homes of some DC Council members. According to Shutdown DC, the activists will gather at Black Lives Matter Plaza for a meeting Wednesday at 6 p.m. with a week worth of demonstrations on the calendar.