This is the third week that the National Guard has been in D.C., and we are seeing more and more guards, and many of them are now carrying guns.
Rallies
There are lots of small and large protest rallies around the city.
14th and U rally, 8/23
By the White House
Labor rally at Dupont Circle, 8/28
These National Guards were quite friendly, carrying water bottles instead of guns – but seeing them in Dupont Circle on the outskirts of the rally is frightening:
Around the city
In related news
The Rose Garden was first created 120 years ago, and has been the site of many historic occasions. Trump has ripped it out and replaced it by a paved patio with tables and umbrellas (visible on the left side of this photo).
The FBI raided John Bolton’s house
The sandwich guy
The “sandwich guy” was accused of throwing a Subway sandwich at a Federal officer. He worked as a paralegal at the DOJ but was fired after this incident, and charged with a felony. In a rare occurrence, Federal prosecutors yesterday failed to get a grand jury to return an indictment. Posters of his act can be found all over the city.
Albert Pike statue
The Albert Pike statue, by Judiciary Square, was the only statue of a Confederate General in D.C. It was toppled during the Black Lives Matter protests, and the Park Service took away the statue to be stored and available for historians.
President Trump has ordered that the statue be reinstalled. The area around the statue is completely fenced off, but there was room under the fence for a camera to take the following photo, which shows the intact base of the photo. We assume that it will be highly controversial as the statue is restored and replaced in the next few months in such a public spot.
Comic relief
If you need a break, go see this life-size cow made of butter – it’s across the street from the White House (in a refrigerated case inside the Renwick Museum). It was carved by the famous Iowa State Fair butter carver, Sarah Pratt. (free, through Sept. 7th)
How we gonna get that statue down again?
I’d guess that there is going to be good security around the statue – maybe a fence, or security cameras – it’s right next to D.C. police headquarters, so it could be well-guarded.