An Open Letter Supporting a Free DC and Marking One Year of Occupation

As of today, August 11, 2026, Trump’s unjustified, illegal, and dangerous militarized occupation of DC has now been going on for an entire year.

Over this year DC communities have demanded an end to the murders, warrantless arrests, illegal searches, family separations, intimidation, and terror against Black and Brown communities that this occupation involves. We also demand an end to the attacks against our autonomy coming from Congress.

In recognition of today’s anniversary, more than 240 national groups, faith congregations, elected leaders, and local organizations have signed a national letter of solidarity making the following commitments:

1. Oppose the military occupation of the District of Columbia and rise in full support of DC statehood as the path to self-determination and equal rights for its 700,000 residents.

2. Demand that every governor serving as Commander in Chief of deployed National Guard troops withdraw those troops from Washington, D.C. immediately.

3. Call on every Member of Congress to honor the principle of consent of the governed and commit to not overturning or interfering with Washington, D.C.'s locally enacted laws. Congress' constitutional jurisdiction over the federal enclave should not be used as an excuse to take away the authority DC has over its own affairs.

4. Urge the federal government to dismantle the "DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force" and the Joint Task Force created to operationalize it, to end the surge of forces in Washington, D.C., and to cease all ICE, DHS, DEA, IRS, FBI, Park Police, and other federal surge traffic checkpoints, high speed chases, and raids on homes and workplaces.

5. Encourage our communities to use their First Amendment rights in the District of Columbia to peaceably assemble and petition their government for a redress of grievances.

6. Publicly oppose any effort to prevent the seating of duly elected officials representing Washington, D.C. or any other jurisdiction, and commit our resources to ensuring that every elected official is sworn in and seated.

Signatories

Free DC, and:

National Organizations
Advancement Project
American Federation of Teachers
Athena Coalition
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Black Voters Matter Fund
Clearinghouse on Women's Issues
Common Defense
Disability Culture Lab
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Democracy Renewal Group
Dream Defenders
Faith Beyond Religious Nationalism
Family Values @ Work Action
Feminist Majority Foundation
Food & Water Watch
Freedom Trainers
Free Speech For People
Greenpeace USA
Indivisible
Interfaith Alliance
Jewish Voice for Peace
League of Conservation Voters
League of Women Voters of the United States
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Legal Action Center
May Day Strong
Movement for Black Lives
MoveOn
National Action Network
National Education Association
National Homelessness Law Center
National Nurses Organizing Committee, National Nurses United (NNU/NNOC)
Not With Our Money
People Power United
People’s Action
Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Public Citizen
Rising Majority
Rogan's List
Secure Elections Network
Sunrise Movement
Union of Concerned Scientists
We Are CASA
Women's March
Zero Hour
198 methods
18 Million Rising

DC-area Organizations
32BJ SEIU
1199SEIU MD/DC
AFSCME District Council 20
AFSCME Local 1808, DC Public Library Workers
American University Rise Up
Amica Center for Immigrant Rights
Anti-Racist DC
Ayuda
Blacks in Law Enforcement
Bread for the City
Called to Justice
Capital Hill Boys Club
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Claudia Jones School
Coalition of Labor Union Women, Metro DC Chapter
CODEPINK DC
Concerned Citizens Demanding Change
Critical Exposure
Crown Incorporated
DC Action
DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice
DC Democratic State Committee
DC Young Democrats
DC Fiscal Policy Institute
DC for Democracy
DC for Palestine
DC Jobs with Justice
DC Latino Caucus
DC Statehood PAC
DC Vote
DMV Jewish Labor Bund
Empower DC
EmpowerEd
Fair Budget Coalition
Frederick Douglass Club CPUSA
Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop
Grassroots Alexandria
Greater Greater Washington
Hands Off the Arts
Harriet’s Wildest Dreams
Jews United for Justice
League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia
Maryland State Education Association
MD DC Alliance for Retired Americans
Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO
Metro DC DSA
Miriam's Kitchen
More Than Our Crimes
Mothers Outreach Network
Neighbors United for DC Statehood
National Organization for Women, DC chapter
ONE DC Black Workers Center Chorus
Positive Force DC
SEIU Local 500
Solidarity Warriors
SPACEs In Action
Swing Left GWU
Takoma Park Mobilization
Task Force for Democracy
Third Act DC
Third Act DMV
Thrive Under 25 Coalition
Together for DC
T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project
Ward 3 Democratic Committee
Ward 3 Democrats for DC Statehood
Ward 4 Democrats
Ward 8 Woods Conservancy
Washington Lawyers' Committee
Washington Teachers' Union
We Are Family Senior Outreach Network
50501 DC

Faith Leaders and Institutions
All Souls Church Unitarian (DC)
Asbury United Methodist Church (DC)
Capitol Hill United Methodist Church (DC)
Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ (DC)
CLEAR Dallas
​​Congregate Charlottesville
Dorothy Day Catholic Worker
Dumbarton United Methodist Church (DC)
Faith in Action National Network
The Festival Center
First Congregational United Church of Christ, Washington, DC
Foundry United Methodist Church
Jewish Voice for Peace-DC Metro
Jews United for Justice
Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church (DC)
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Pax Christi USA
Rabbi Koach Baruch Frazier
Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould
Rev. Aundreia Alexander
Rev. Neal Christie
Rev. Mark Thompson, Make It Plain
Unitarian Universalist Association
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice
Uri L'Tzedek
Washington Interfaith Network

Local Elected Leaders
DC Councilmember Robert White, At Large and Democratic nominee for Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives
DC Councilmember Christina Henderson, At Large
DC Councilmember Elissa Silverman, At Large
DC Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau, Ward 1
DC Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, Ward 4
DC Councilmember Zachary Parker, Ward 5
DC Councilmember Charles Allen, Ward 6

DC Shadow Senator Ankit Jain
DC Shadow Representative Dr. Oye Owolewa

Ben Williams, DC State Board of Education, Ward 1
Dr. LaJoy Johnson-Law, DC State Board of Education, Ward 8

Charles Wilson, DC Democratic State Committee, Chair
Philip Pannell, DC Democratic State Committee, National Committeeman
Sam Bonar, DC Democratic State Committee, At-Large
Samantha Davis, DC Democratic State Committee, At-Large
Jerome Hinkle, DC Democratic State Committee, At-Large
Chioma Iwuoha, DC Democratic Party, At Large
Lïa Lake, J.D., DC Democratic State Committee, At-Large
Emily Siegel, DC Democratic State Committee, At-Large
Aliyah McNeeley, At-Large Committeewoman DCDSC and VP of DC Young Democrats
Ethan Arnheim, DC Democratic State Committee, Ward 1
Alex Busbee, DC Democratic State Committee, Ward 1
Ethan Arnheim, DC Democratic State Committee, Ward 1
Michelle Chappell, DC Democratic State Committee, Ward 1
Rachel Lesniak, DC Democratic State Committee, Ward 2
Tarek Maassarani, DC Democratic State Committee, Ward 3
Charles Burgess, DC Democratic State Committee, Ward 4
Aaron Dickerson, DC Democratic State Committee, Ward 5
Lauren Kuritz, DC Democratic State Committee, Ward 6
Daraja Carroll, DC Democratic State Committee, Ward 6
Avram Reisman, DC Democratic Committeeman, Ward 6
Tyrell M. Holcomb, Ward 7 Democrats, Chair

Jaspal S. Bhatia, Commissioner, ANC 1A01
Dieter Lehmann Morales, Commissioner, ANC 1A02
Jeremy Sherman, Commissioner, ANC 1A04
Francois Barrilleaux, Commissioner, ANC 1B02
Miguel Trindade Deramo, Commissioner, ANC 1B06
Howard Bauleke, Commissioner, ANC 1C01
David Fucillo, Commissioner, ANC 1C08
Nancy Groth, Commissioner, ANC 2C02
Trupti J. Patel, Commissioner, ANC 2A03
Sean Youngstone, Commissioner, ANC 2A09
Madison Crum, Commissioner, ANC 2B04
Howard Garrett, Commissioner, ANC 2G01
Steven McCarty, Commissioner, ANC 2G04
Sheena Berry, Commissioner, ANC 2G05
Janell Pagats, Commissioner, ANC 3C03
Erin Beard, Commissioner, ANC 3C04
Chuck Elkins, Commissioner, ANC 3D01
Claudette David, Commissioner, ANC 3F04
Christen Boas Hayes, Commissioner, ANC 4C06
Eric Heller, Commissioner, ANC 4C07
Jenn Kauffman, Commissioner, ANC 4D08
Anna Roblin, Commissioner, ANC 5D03
Charquinta McCray, Commissioner, ANC 5D06
Joe Bishop-Henchman, Commissioner, ANC 5F06
Aru Sahni, Commissioner, ANC 5F02
Julia Hedlund, Commissioner, ANC 5F07
Roberta Shapiro, Commissioner, ANC 6A03
Morgan Conley, Commissioner, ANC 6A05
Bruce Levine, Commissioner, ANC 6D06
Mónica Martínez López, Commissioner, ANC 5B05
Travis R. Swanson, Commissioner, ANC 7B03
Katie Murphy, Commissioner, ANC 7D04
Ebony Payne, Commissioner, ANC 7D05

Allies in States
Bay Resistance
Chicago Teachers Union
Illinois Federation of Teachers
Arizona Jews for Justice
Arizona Education Association
Education Minnesota
Texas State Teachers Association
Wisconsin Education Association Council
Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance
Oregon PeaceWorks
Regina Romero, Tucson AZ Mayor

Join the signatories

Labor unions, mobilizing organizations, faith congregations, and elected officials are invited to affirm the commitments in this letter and add your name as a signatory.