The White House Peace Vigil, widely considered the longest continuous act of political protest in U.S. history, has maintained its position in Lafayette Square, just across Pennsylvania Avenue and visible from the north side of the White House, for more than 40 years. It has survived seven presidents, several U.S. wars and countless storms.
Before the sun rose Sunday, federal law enforcement officials dismantled parts of it, about 36 hours after President Donald Trump issued an order: "Take it down. Take it down today. Right now."
On Friday, Brian Glenn, a correspondent for the conservative network Real America's Voice, told the president during a gathering with reporters that there was "a blue tent" in front of the White House that was "an eyesore."
Trump said he was unaware of it. He then ordered its removal.
But the vigil remained untouched Friday and Saturday, through two closures of Lafayette Square.
Around 6:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Will Roosien, a 24-year-old volunteer who was watching over the Peace Vigil at the time, about 10 federal officers arrived and told Roosien he had 30 minutes to remove a blue tarp that provides shelter to protesters who sit at the vigil through all weather - 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He said he refused.
When the officers began to tear the structure apart, Roosien said, he got in front of them and put his body between them and the tarp.
"They threw me in cuffs," Roosien said. He said they later released him without arresting him. "That tarp is what makes it possible for us to be there for 24 hours - when it's cold, when it's raining, like last night. It protects the protest."
The police left behind the protest's flags and political placards, which by Sunday afternoon had been reassembled.
Philipos Melaku-Bello, the vigil's longest-serving steward, sat in his usual spot in his wheelchair, now under a red canopy, as tourists ambled by.
"Wow," a woman in a pink sundress remarked. "It's still here."
The vigil has been previously removed only a handful of times, according to media accounts. It happened twice roughly a decade ago, when the makeshift structure that shelters the vigil keepers from the elements was left unattended in violation of Park Service rules. The protest was also forced to move from Lafayette Square in 2020, amid confrontations between racial justice demonstrators and police following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
On Sunday, the White House confirmed the removal to The Washington Post. In a statement, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said: "President Trump is committed to the public safety of DC residents and visitors, as well as the beautification of our nation's capital. This tent was a hazard to those visiting the White House and the surrounding areas."
The Post wrote about the Peace Vigil in August after Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-New Jersey) sent a letter to the Interior Department calling the vigil "a 24/7 eyesore" and accusing the protesters who maintain it of hijacking a national park. He demanded the agency review its legality and, if appropriate, disband the demonstration.
"Let me be clear: nothing in the Constitution guarantees the right to erect permanent structures and occupy public land day after day, year after year, in a manner that creates public safety hazards, degrades the appearance of one of our most iconic parks, and burdens both the District and the National Park Service," Van Drew wrote to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the District's longtime nonvoting representative in the House, has had a long relationship with the vigil keepers and repeatedly introduced legislation supporting their call for the abolition of nuclear weapons. She told The Post at the time in a statement: "The First Amendment protects peaceful protests, even when they're seen as unsightly or inconvenient, and even when they occur in front of the White House. ... As D.C.'s sole member of Congress, I'm the best advocate for the District, and I wholeheartedly support the Peace Vigil, its organizers and its message."
Trump has targeted encampments as part of his federal crackdown in the District. The White House has said 50 homeless encampments in D.C. have been cleared in recent weeks.
But the peace vigil is not a homeless encampment. It's a tentlike structure used by vigil keepers to shelter from the elements and house supplies. Melaku-Bello and other volunteers maintain homes elsewhere.
The Peace Vigil is a 44-year protest calling for nuclear disarmament and an end to global conflicts. To maintain its position in Lafayette Square, the demonstration must be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A rotating team of volunteers keeps watch over it.
The effort began on June 3, 1981, when its founder, William Thomas, appeared outside of the White House holding a placard that read, "Wanted: Wisdom and Honesty."
Melaku-Bello, who is from California, found his way to the Peace Vigil in 1981 while touring the East Coast with his bandmates, performing at alternative venues - including the original 9:30 Club in D.C. By the 1990s, he moved to the area and secured a job with the Alexandria parks and recreation department.
He is the last of the original activists still dedicated to preserving their protest. Thomas died of pulmonary disease on Jan. 23, 2009, at the age of 61. His longtime collaborator Concepcion Picciotto became the face of the vigil soon after. Seven years later, Picciotto died after spending three decades of her life outside the White House "to stop the world from being destroyed."
Last month, when talking about what the Peace Vigil was in those early days, Melaku-Bello told The Post: "It was basically young people who agreed with this neo-anarchistic ideology of no more wars, no more top-down systems, no more misogyny and racism. That there had to be a better way."