Since May 1, Union Station has added a new feature to its landscape and those responsible for the scenery are planning on becoming fixtures in the area until there’s major political change. Just outside the transportation hub, a protest encampment has taken root, greeting commuters and travelers with large tents.
The tents are not about housing, but as an act of resistance against President Donald Trump’s administration and policies.
“Our core goal is impeaching and removing Donald Trump,” said Catherine Economopoulos, one of the encampment’s lead organizers. “This physical center is actually at a shifting point. As our needs and the world stage and state of affairs change, we’re looking at a potential rebrand and considering shifting some of the way we do things here on site while still sticking to that core goal of impeachment and removal.”
The encampment was organized in tandem with May Day Movement USA, a national campaign for justice and accountability. On June 28, the group officially announced a rebrand of their initiative on social media under the name FLARE (For Liberation and Resistance Everywhere), using the handle flare.usa.
Organizers argue that people must show and actively demonstrate their desire for change.
“We are under attack from a fascist president; he is shredding the Constitution, violating Americans’ rights, and violating the rights of the people of the world,” said Peter Stinson, founding initiative coordinator, in a statement on the Mayday Movement USA Instagram page. “We must impeach; we must remove, and it’s only going to happen if we convince Congress to do its job. So, step up, folks; it’s time for you to do your job. Come to D.C., make Congress do what they need to do.”
While the political outcome remains uncertain, the encampment has grown into more than a protest site, now functioning as a space for political education, artistic expression, and coalition-building, all just steps away from one of D.C.’s busiest transit hubs.
“A lot of what we’ve been doing also goes beyond the congressional operation side of things,” Economopoulos explained. “We make a lot of art here, and we do a lot of community education and outreach. And the reaction to those things has been especially powerful.”
Now two months in, organizers plan to remain “until Trump is impeached,” said Milo Sees, art lead for the encampment.
“The idea started back in February, and at that moment, since we weren’t in D.C. yet, the plan was to start on May 1, and we’ve had a continual encampment going since,” said Sees. “Because of permitting requirements, we started on the National Mall and they moved us around once or twice to bring us here eventually.”
Work to Impeach Trump: ‘Third Time’s the Charm, Right?’
Trump is the only U.S. president to be impeached twice.
In both cases, the House voted to impeach, but the Senate did not reach the two-thirds majority needed to convict and remove him. Despite these failed efforts, organizers say renewed public pressure could make a third attempt possible.
“Third time’s the charm, right? Based on what we’re hearing from congressional reps that our congressional ops team has been meeting with, we do feel that this third round of impeachment is going to be a little bit different,” said Economopoulos. “Given that there’s strong support from [congressmen] like [Rep.] Al Green (D-Texas), we believe that by continuing to push this early on in this term, we have a better chance.”
Public reaction has been mixed. Some passersby have questioned whether the encampment will lead to meaningful change, while others expressed support for any effort that keeps the issue in public view.
“We have had some pushback and some counter-protesters, but generally, most of what we’ve seen from folks commuting to and from Union Station on their way to work in the morning has been wholehearted support,” Economopoulos told The Informer.
While the encampment is garnering support, Economopoulos emphasized there’s still work to do, particularly considering the House of Representatives voted by a wide margin, 344 to 79, to block a new attempt to impeach former President Donald Trump for authorizing airstrikes in Iran on June 24. The effort, led by Green, a Texas Democrat, was halted when 128 of his party members joined all 216 Republicans in voting to dismiss the resolution.
Despite the recent House vote, organizers remain committed to their cause of working to impeach Trump and officially remove him from office.
“The summer’s going to get hotter,” said a determined Economopoulos. “But we’re prepared for that.”