Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., has sent a sent a letter to Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum requesting the agency remove an unsightly protest encampment that has lived a few hundred feet from the White House for over 40 years.
Van Drew opened his letter affirming his support of free speech but argued that the Peace Vigil was neither an example of the 1st Amendment nor an equitable use of public land. “Even if I strongly disagree with many of the wrong and distasteful messages advocated by this protest, American have every right to protest their government. But they do not have a right to hijack a national park and turn it into a 24/7 eyesore,” he wrote.
The White House Peace Vigil began as a quiet protest in 1981 by William Thomas against nuclear proliferation during the Reagan administration. The hastily assembled collection of signs, rain tarps and slogans has morphed over the decades to encapsulate a variety of left-wing causes including Black Lives Matter, transgenderism and currently displays accusations of genocide by Israel in Gaza.
The Peace Vigil has seen its membership dwindle in numbers over the years while at the same the average age of volunteers has passed well into retirement. Activist Philipos Melaku-Bello is now into his early 60s while two other volunteers are pushing 70. Melaku-Bello, who is the godson of Thomas, still works seven-hour shifts and makes a 22-mile round trip from his home to keep watch. He laments without his commitment it would go away. “I’m pretty sure it would cease to exist,” Melaku-Bello said. “I don’t want it to disappear.”
Van Drew cited the case of Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence which prohibits overnight structures in Lafayette Square and notes that the government needs to balance expressive conduct while at the same time protecting public spaces from misuse.
“No group should be above the law, and the continued allowance of this permanent occupation sends the wrong message to law-abiding Americans,” the congressman’s letter concluded. “This isn’t about stopping protests. It’s about upholding the rule of law, preserving one of American’s most iconic public spaces, and ending a double standard that’s made a mockery of both.”
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