White House Removes Antiwar Vigil After 4 Decades

Law enforcement officials on Sunday removed a peace vigil that had stood outside the White House for more than four decades. President Trump ordered it to be taken down as part of the clearing of homeless encampments in the nation's capital, the AP reports. Philipos Melaku-Bello, a volunteer who has manned the vigil for years, said Park Police removed it early Sunday morning, telling him the memorial was a shelter. "The difference between an encampment and a vigil is that an encampment is where homeless people live," Melaku-Bello said. "As you can see, I don't have a bed. I have signs and it is covered by the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression."

The White House told the AP in a statement that the vigil was a "hazard to those visiting the White House and the surrounding areas." Taking down the vigil is the latest in a series of actions the Trump administration has ordered as part of its federal takeover of policing in the city, which began last month. The White House has defended the intervention as needed to fulfill Trump's executive order on the "beautification" of DC. Melaku-Bello called the move a civil rights violation. "They're choosing to call a place that is not an encampment an encampment just to fit what is in Trump's agenda of removing the encampments," he said.

The vigil was started in 1981 by activist William Thomas to promote nuclear disarmament and an end to global conflicts. It is believed to be the longest continuous antiwar protest in US history. When Thomas died in 2009, other protesters like Melaku-Bello staffed the tiny tent and the banner, which read "Live by the bomb, die by the bomb," around the clock to avoid it being dismantled by authorities. The small but persistent act of protest was brought to Trump's attention during an event at the While House on Friday. Brian Glenn, a correspondent for the conservative network Real America's Voice, told the president the blue tent was an "eyesore" for those who come to the White House and described it as anti-American and "sometimes anti-Trump."