Todd St Hill

February 3, 2025

As the federal workers, perhaps reluctantly, returned to the office this week, a group of young activists staged an act of civil disobedience, shutting down 17th st NW. Activists with the youth-led Get Free Movement used their bodies to obstruct one of the entrances to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 

Activists risked arrest stopping Monday morning traffic, to the frustration of commuters, to call attention to the Trump administration's rollback of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies .

Koryn Guile, a native to the DMV area, said she’s tired of people saying “DEI” when it is just code for “Black”, and that it’s okay to speak up and refuse to accept the administration’s sweeping changes,  because it is not normal. 

“It’s not normal to live in a country where you have a white supremacist authoritarian in power. It’s not normal to have someone who was not elected [i.e. Elon Musk] to be making decisions at that level,”  Guile said. 

The young activists see DEI as a hard fought win for the fight against racism, particularly anti-Black racism, over the last 4 years. Nicole Carty, Executive Director, and one of the founding members of Get Free understood DEI is part of a continuum of civil rights policies that exist to rectify historic inequality. 

“This is a faction that is against actual history conscious policy and is trying to resurrect white supremacy,” Carty said  

Some motorists frustrated by the youth action attempted to break through the Blockade, unsuccessfully. Things got tense when drivers revved their engines, as if to threaten to run the young activists over, but they were immovable, holding banners that read “MAGA is taking away civil rights. Refuse to comply,” and “MAGA is locking into white supremacy. Refuse to comply.” Some drivers honked their horns and raised clenched fists in support of the civil disobedience.  

Since taking office President Donald Trump has issued a flurry of executive orders jeopardizing tax paying families ability to afford food, health care, and attacking programs created to curb longstanding discrimination among Black, brown, transgender and immigrant Americans.  

“We took action…because we are in a fight for our freedoms and we refuse to comply with the MAGA regime’s attempts to take hard won freedoms and civil rights,  and re-segregate our country,” said Anthony Torres, a spokesperson for Get Free.

The Get Free Movement, a multiracial “youth-led movement to repair past harms, remove ongoing barriers to equality, and realize a future where freedom is for all.” according to their website.  

 Guile thinks everyone deserves access to education, healthcare, and housing. 

“They’re pulling the rug out from under ordinary Americans and it's not okay and we’re going to take a stand,” Guile said.

Since their shutdown protests have continued into Tuesday at several government buildings in response to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency attempted takeover and Donald Trump's recent remarks about potential U.S. Occupation of Gaza, including the Office of Personnel Management, The Treasury Department Building, and White House. 

Protests at state capitals across the country against Project 2025 are expected to continue throughout the week.