WASHINGTON — What was expected to be a routine appearance by D.C.'s mayor at an arts and entertainment event started off a tense note Friday, when her speech was disrupted by protestors.
A small group of protesters showed up to the event where Mayor Muriel Bowser was announcing the return of Artomatic. As Bowser first approached the podium, two people holding signs stormed the stage and shouted demands of a ceasefire in Gaza. Busboys and Poets CEO Andy Shallal also approached the mayor asking questions about what she's working to do in light of the ongoing war in Gaza.
"We tried to reach out to the mayor and the city council to try to ask them to put out a ceasefire resolution, several other cities have done that already,” Busboys and poets CEO, Andy Shallal said. “We're a progressive city and a lot of people are 80 percent want to see a ceasefire and yet total silence from the mayor."
The mayor, however, responded that the message was delivered in the wrong way.
"We don't want anybody to get hurt, including me,” Bowser said. “We want people to be able to exercise their first amendment rights and do it in a way that's peaceful. "
She added that as a city government official, she isn't inolved in "decisions about war or peace."
"I am an anti-war American, but I rely on the national government to make decisions," the mayor said.
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