‘DC being under attack is a problem for American democracy,’ says leader of group fighting for city’s rights
W
hen a protest against Donald Trump’smilitarized 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.
“DC being under attack is a problem for American democracy, and that is what is at stake here,” said executive director Keya Chatterjee, a former neighborhood commissioner and climate activist who drew on her experience researching authoritarian takeovers at Democracy Fund to co-found the group.
