WASHINGTON — Veterans, federal workers, people who don’t want to lose Social security and other rights joined family and friends on the National Mall on Friday for a peaceful 14th Now March on Washington.
As the protest began, Jessica Denson, a former Trump aide and founding member of 14th Now, took the stage to express their feelings that the new administration is unwilling to respect U.S. citizens’ constitutional rights.
“We are going to take our country back peacefully and solidly because you know what? I know there are more of us than there are of them,” Denson said.
“We are one,” she continued, and the crowd chanted afterward in a call-and-response.
The protest also included messages from Susan Schnall, president of Veterans for Peace; John Bonifaz, president of Free Speech for People; comedian Cliff Cash; and Harry Dunn, who wrote a memoir about his experience guarding the Capitol during the attack on Jan. 6, 2021, called “Standing My Ground: A Capitol Police Officer’s Fight for Accountability and Good Trouble After January 6th.”
Protesters are calling for “the immediate removal of this illegal administration from power by any and all constitutional means,” according to the website for the 3.14 Now D.C. movement, organized by 14th Now.
Organizers describe the encircled 3.14 Now D.C. logo as a symbol and statement representing the people’s story. It also represents Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and the power of the circle.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states that people who engage in insurrection should be banned from office. Presidents, members of Congress and state legislators are prohibited from protesting.
Janet Ruiz, a retired program analyst for the Department of Defense, said that it was unnecessary for President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk to dismantle the federal government with “so many controls in place” to fight inefficiency and corruption.
“Suddenly somebody comes in, and they’re experimenting with our system,” Ruiz said. “They are destroying a system [that works] for us.”
Organizers asked Americans all over the country to attend the march and to make signs including words such as “impeach, remove, stop the coup and invoke 14.3.”
Many people came with protest signs, stating “Trump’s a Facist,” “Stop the Fascist Coup” and “Impeach Trump Now.”
Kevin Leary, a volunteer for the protest, described the message he hopes the demonstration will convey to the rest of America.
“We as Americans care, and we need to stop the unconstitutionality of what they’re doing, and we need to get our Congress and Senate to not be such a dysfunctional organization,” Leary said.
Americans chanted phrases such as “Traitor” and “F— Trump.”
Omar Sissoko, a student attending Virginia Tech, does not trust Conservatives.
“It’s very important to coalition,” Sissoko said. “When people come together, we are stronger. And I have no faith in Conservatives. But I believe that we have to pressure Democrats to action as well. So I think us showing up … is going to do that.”
As more time went by, event organizers constantly reminded participants of this being a peaceful protest. They invited a former veteran on stage to remind the crowd of the protest rules.
The protest later relocated from the National Mall to the Black Lives Matter Plaza on 16th Street near the White House to fight against its removal.
“I decided to attend this march because it’s a part of history,” said Steven Robinson, a retired first sergeant. “I’m an American. I’ve been to war. I’m about standing up and surviving justice.”
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
— The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter From a Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963
Robinson also referred to a quote by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” from his open letter from a jail in Birmingham, Alabama, on April 16, 1963.
“So to me,” Robinson added, “it was very important that I do stand up for people that can’t stand up.”
Christion Billy is a reporter for HUNewsService.com.
