When a protest against Donald Trump’s militarized crackdown in Washington DC reached the White House last Saturday after a mile-and-a-half march, the thousands-strong crowd shouted a simple, two-word chant: “Free DC.”
It’s a slogan with a long history in the federal district that has again become prominent after an activist group formed this year specifically to respond to the president’s threats of meddling took it as their name. Arguing that the struggle for the city’s rights is part of the larger fight for the country’s democracy, Free DC has galvanized thousands of district residents against the president’s attempts to interfere in Washington DC – a cause that came into focus last month when the president took over the police department and sent the national guard and federal agents on to city streets.
