Like much of the United States, the streets of Washington, D.C. have been quiet for the past few weeks after city officials shuttered bars, restaurants, and all but the most essential businesses to try to halt the spread of the coronavirus. Climate protesters seem to be the last ones to get the message. In fact, a group called the Shutdown DC Alliance has planned a rally to “shut down” the city Friday—all while idling dozens of cars and trucks and flouting social distancing rules.
According to an evite, protesters are planning to “swarm the Capitol and White House” on Friday to march and “make some noise” with pots, pans and other noisemakers.
“Leave your torches and pitchforks at home (for now) but bring signs, banners, pots, pans and other noise makers,” the group advised would be protesters in a press release.
Despite being the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day, commemorations this year were muted thanks to worldwide restrictions on large public gatherings. That hasn’t stopped protesters from trying to bring the energy of Earth Day into May with them. The Shutdown DC Alliance has organized ten days of action to promote a radical anti-energy agenda. On Monday, more than 135 people participated in three different protests that moved around the city, before arriving meeting for a live go-go band in Anacostia.
A video of the event shows masked protesters riding in the back of a pickup truck through the city waving a flag. The climate activists have not acknowledged the irony of burning gasoline and diesel in a parade to protest climate change when they otherwise would have remained at home under the district-wide lockdown.
What’s more noticeable is the disregard protesters show for public safety even as they claim to support front line healthcare workers.
Protesters in DC gather to write chalk messages
Organizers of the events emphasize that participants are supposed to follow public health guidelines, including requirements that they stay at least six feet away from other people. In practice, though, these rules are less stringently followed. Pictures and videos of Monday’s protest event show protesters crouching on adjacent sidewalk squares to scrawl messages with chalk—coming within inches of each other. Meanwhile, video posted on Twitter of the protesters’ end of protest go-go party shows a group of several dozen people gathering close together to dance and mingle.
The District of Columbia is currently under a “stay at home” order, which advises residents to stay at home unless performing essential functions. Unsurprisingly, protesting outside empty government office buildings is not on the list.
It isn’t clear who the protests were intended to persuade. Many federal workers have been working from home for the past several weeks. Neither are legislators in Washington. On Tuesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer cancelled plans to bring lawmakers back to the Capitol next week based on advice from Congress’s attending physician. In the meantime, most of them are back in their home districts.
Violating social distancing orders to idle trucks outside empty offices isn’t the best look for environmental protesters, but in DC, it’s the one they are going with.
