Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
Last night, hundreds of you joined for our Ward 5 Town Hall on Federal Overreach. It was a reminder to me of how invested our community is in looking out for one another and resisting this moment of authoritarian intrusion on local government.
The call to action in this moment is clear: organize and mobilize. According to the Home Rule Charter, the president can only request MPD’s services under an emergency declaration for 30 days, or in this case, until September 10. We are working to mobilize neighbors so that this manufactured crisis can end when that 30-day clock is up. There are many advocacy groups and organizations already doing just that. In the Ward 5 Toolkit that we shared during last night’s call, I endeavor to give you even more opportunities to get involved. Here are the highlights:
- Report incidents of federal enforcement in Ward 5.
- See or hear about federal activity in Ward 5? Share it with my office. You can use the link ward5.us/report or simply call or email us at 202-724-8028 or ward5contact@dccouncil.gov.
- Demonstrate with neighbors across Ward 5 against federal intrusion.
- Join us at demonstrations to protest the federal surge. These will take place on Tuesday evenings, beginning September 2, from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. We’ll share more details with those who sign up at ward5.us/resist.
- Mobilize to take our message to Congress.
- Help us take our message to congressional representatives during our Ward 5 mobilization on the Hill, scheduled for September 9 from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Sign up at ward5.us/onthehill.
All of this and more, including resources and information on how to prepare for interactions with law enforcement, is available at ward5.us/toolkit. Share with your neighbors, print a copy for quick reference, and help us spread the word.
If you missed the call and want to view the recording, you can catch it here. You can also access slides from the town hall here, along with a copy of the Q&A transcript here. Neighbors also came off mute to ask questions and entered questions into the chat. We are working to post answers to most questions on my website by early next week. More to come.
While we face this affront to DC’s Home Rule, we don’t face it alone. Let’s work together and confront this moment with the moral clarity it requires.
