In yet another sign of the vibe shift, cops in Washington, D.C., have begun hauling riders off of city buses for skipping the fare.Back in the Woke Era (2014 to 2024), fare evasion was nearly a cause celebre. The history of this period needs to be recalled regularly lest tomorrow’s liberals claim it never happened — pretending it’s some right-wing fever dream.Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, in early 2018, said he wouldn’t prosecute turnstile jumpers, and cops noted this included those with more than 50 offenses.
When subsequently some cops got into scuffles with unruly turnstile-hoppers, hundreds of New Yorkers protested the enforcement of subway fares by hopping the turnstiles en masse. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) praised the gate-hoppers as civil rights heroes.
A man jumps over the turnstile and escapes the fare as he enters a subway station in the Manhattan borough of New York City on April 24. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)
“Arresting people who can’t afford a $2.75 fare makes no one safer and destabilizes our community,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “New Yorkers know that, they’re not having it, and they’re standing up for each other.”
Squadmate Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) promoted “decriminalizing fare evasion” nationwide as part of her “People’s Justice Guarantee.”
