October 4, 2023

The Trump administration just rolled out a sinister plan to stop mass protests at the White House

The massive ocean of protestors that descended on Washington D.C. last weekend to protest the confirmation of accused rapist Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court has sent a shiver of fear down the spine of the right-wing.

Terrified at the prospect of possibly facing consequences for their open embrace of accused sex criminals and plutocratic class war against everyday Americans, the right-wing media machine has kicked into full gear to demonize the “progressive mob” that suddenly is out to get them.

Aghast, pearl-clutching thinkpieces are being churned out at a record pace by the very same ghouls who spent the past month using every trick in the book to excuse and whitewash Brett Kavanaugh’s many sins while turning a blind eye to the president’s history of inciting violence against protestors and the barrage of death threats from Trump supporters that immediately greet anyone who dares to be critical of the president.

https://twitter.com/jbouie/status/1050476912232026114

While the war of empty outrage is being waged in the pages of The Federalist and on FOX & Friends, the Trump administration itself is coming close to implementing a dastardly plan to sharply curtail the public’s ability to protest in Washington D.C.

The National Park Service filed a set of new regulations in August that would shut down the space in front of the White House for the purposes of protest, banning stages and sound systems for rallies, and charging unreasonably high fees for protest permits that would put an undue burden on the public’s First Amendment right to protest and to express free speech.

The ACLU warns that “Fee requirements could make mass protests like Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic 1963 March on Washington and its ‘I have a dream’ speech too expensive to happen.” 

There are only FOUR DAYS for you to send comments urging the NPS to not implement these new rules. If you want to do your part to make sure they don’t change the rules on us and keep us from exercising our rights, submit your comments at this link.

Tell the NPS you don’t want them infringing on your right to protest!

Colin Taylor

Managing Editor

Colin Taylor is the managing editor of the Washington Press. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice, equality, and universal health care in America.