"Free the people! Fight the power! Fuck the police! Revolution!"
On Saturday night, the "They/Them Collective" held another march throughout DC, beginning in Dupont Circle.
"Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail! The whole damn system is guilty as hell!"
"One! Two! Three! Four! Slavery, genocide and war! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! America was never great!" chanted the activists as they marched through DC.
Ahead of the march, antifa activist @JasonRCharter tried to go "pig fishing" by offering police officers a donut on a fishing rod.
Awe, that's one of those crumb cake ones," one officer replied sarcastically. "That is delicious."
"I'm on a diet so..." rejected another.
Correction to earlier tweet: While "Revolution!" is used in some chants such as "You can't stop the revolution!" in the particular tweet I misheard "abolition" as "revolution."
Apologies for the misquote.
The FTP March went to 17th street near Dupont, the site of several gay bars.
"You're going to listen to the stories of the murders of Black people within the DMV killed by the pigs, paid for by your tax dollars," they told patrons, who they blocked from filming with umberellas.
One patron from a gay bar called JR's insisted on filming.
The FTP activists were insistent that bystanders witnessing the event did not film and confronted/blocked him from pointing his phone at the event.
"If you believe that Black lives matter... I ask you, I challenge you, to raise your fist in solidarity!"
Most patrons at the restaurants did so.
"When you're asked to raise your fist up in the air, you are showing solidarity of which side of the history you stand on," an organizer said.
"When you don't raise your hand in solidarity, what you're saying is that you are comfortable to be white supremacist."
One on looker claimed to be "on your side" to the protesters but called it "bullshit" that they were blocking him from filming.
The FTP march continued, chanting "ACAB! Fuck the police!" and later "It's a revolution! It's a revolution!"
"Hands up, fight back!"
Some people filmed from the patio of Larry's Lounge, another gay bar.
"Raise your fist up the air, give us a clap... but please don't record the march. We don't want to snitch on freedom fighters."
A waiter asked patrons to stop filming as activists used umbrellas to block.
"Thank you for your own cooperation" said the organizer after most patrons stopped filming.
A line of cops on bikes followed and didn't respond as fireworks went off (second half of this clip.)
The group was well-received in Adam's Morgan, where some bars offered free water and @TownTavernDC offered bathroom use to the protesters.
A line of cops on bikes followed closely behind the activists along with cruisers behind.
Sgt. Travis Maguire argued with protesters, who demanded the cops stay 30 feet behind them.
Sgt. Maguire said that from the back of the core march, he'd bet $100 he was already 30 ft back.
"You do realize that they give us a book with everyone's picture and name," Sgt. Travis Maguire told the protesters.
The protesters tried to get him to say their names outloud to prove it.
"Do you think it's sad that #DeonKay is dead?" an activist asked.
"I have no idea who he is," said Sgt. Maguire.
"That's why I enjoy your marches so much, because I learn so much," added Maguire. "Did you guys preach about him tonight, because if so, I missed that part."
"Just because you put a little mask on does not change you," said Sgt. Maguire. "I could go back to the book and find out everything about you."
The march continued.
I asked Sgt. Maguire about the book, which he says is called a "beat book."
I plan to try to FOIA it.
If you were hoping to see that entire conversation in HD, you're in luck!
Here's uncut video of that, perfect for citing if anyone else wants to try to FOIA the confirmed-to-exist "beat book" described by the cops:
The protesters finished near the White House by chanting the Assata Shakur quote:
“It is our duty to fight for our freedom.
It is our duty to win.
We must love each other and support each other.
We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
Here’s my full summary video of last night’s #FTP march in DC. As always, all footage available to license.
Protesters hold "FTP" rally throughout DC 9/13/2020
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