After the despicable acts of cowardice by trump and his cohorts at Lafayette Square where army, police, national guard and unmarked soldiers assaulted peaceful protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets so that trump could get a photo-up in front of St. John's Episcopal Church, DC has not backed down. In spite of new barricades and threatening military personnel, the protesters are still there, as energized as ever.
Part of the energy and determination of the protesters is derived from the fact that DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has their back. She has been a strong voice against strongman trump and today she upped the ante.
First, she reclaimed the street in from the White House (16th Street) and got it painted with a giant mural proclaiming “BLACK LIVES MATTER”.
Next, the section of 16th street in front of the White House was ceremoniously renamed to “Black Lives Matter Plaza”.
The Mayor has also written to trump that in no uncertain terms, he needs to withdraw military personnel from the streets of DC.
She also added her voice to Speaker Pelosi’s demand that unidentified law enforcement personnel be removed -
It’s damn scary how many states have contributed national guard personnel to … guard trump against peaceful protesters?
Et tu Maryland?
This is what trump is afraid of —
Taking care of our citizens the DC way -
In other DC news, the city was struck by some fierce thunderstorms last night; lightning struck the Washington monument and also struck two National Guard personnel. Both were hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Divine intervention?
There is some more info about the lightning strike in diary “Lightning Strikes and Misses?”.
Here is some more positive news today —
trump is traveling to Maine today and this is what awaits him there — a not-so-polite call for resignation.
On the heels of ex Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’s scathing critique, two more ex Defense Secretaries added their voices condemning trump and his republican enablers in Congress.
All in all, a very bad day for trump and a good day for the voices of reason and justice. What do think is likely to happen next? Let’s look in our crystal balls and try to stay one step ahead of the crazed administration.
* With apologies to Rev. Gini Gerbasi for stealing her line — “But I am now a force to be reckoned with.”
P.S. Looks like Mayor Bowser’s strong actions are producing results. The Pentagon is withdrawing active duty soldiers and disarming National Guardsmen.
And some late night Coup de grâce -