Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., has 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 and progressive causes including Black Lives Matter and transgender rights, and currently displays accusations of genocide by Israel in Gaza.
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